The Liberal Party of Canada has identified its man to challenge for the position of member of parliament for Portage-Lisgar.

Andrew Carrier will be spending the coming weeks attending engagements and knocking on doors in the riding in hopes of dethroning long-time Conservative incumbent Candice Bergen.

"I'm ready to not only provide services, but also to listen to the needs of our constituents," says Carrier. "It's been far too long where there's no direct connection with Ottawa and you need someone to represent your area that will be able to work and to meet the needs of our citizens."

Carrier is the vice president of the Manitoba Metis Federation Winnipeg region, but says he has a strong understanding of the agricultural needs of Portage-Lisgar as his grandfather was a sugar beet farmer in the St. Joseph area. He says in addition to dealing with a changing climate, the rising need for early childhood education is an important issue for the party.

"There's great demand in support of our families in the sense of having two parents being able to go out to work," explains Carrier. "And so early childhood education -- there's a crisis and no spaces available. And we want to make sure that these centres provide a healthy environment that meets not only the health of the child but also will ensure the culture is met and the language of the community."

The Liberal candidate, who speaks both French and English - and is currently learning Spanish - adds that he'd also like to see the country's truth and reconciliation efforts better progress. Despite living in Winnipeg, Carrier believes he has strong roots within rural Manitoba and is eager to be the voice of the constituents.

"I'm really looking forward to the opportunity to meet with our constituents, and to give them an opportunity to say, 'who is Andrew Carrier' and answer that question as to why they should vote for me."

Carrier joins Conservative incumbent Candice Bergen, NDP candidate Ken Friesen, PPC candidate Solomon Wiebe, and Jerome Dondo of the Christian Heritage Party vying to represent the citizens of Portage-Lisgar. The Green Party has yet to identify a candidate for the riding. The federal election is set for Sept. 20.