confirmed that he would seek the Liberal nomination for Parkdale—High Park in the next federal election. At the time, the electoral district was represented by New Democrat Peggy Nash. Kennedy won the nomination by acclamation on April 24, 2007. On March 31, 2008, although he was not a member of the House of Commons of Canada, Kennedy was appointed to the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet by leader Stéphane Dion. Kennedy served as Intergovernmental Affairs critic, which gave him responsibility to speak on behalf of the Liberal Party on matters of federal-provincial relations. In the October 2008 federal election, Kennedy defeated Nash by over 3300 votes, or roughly by a seven percent margin. He was mentioned as a possible candidate in the 2008/09 Liberal leadership race, but eventually decided to pass on another leadership run. War resisters bill On September 17, 2009, Kennedy tabled a private member's bill in the House of Commons. The bill would change provisions of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to provide sanctuary in Canada for American and other countries' war resisters on moral, political or religious grounds. 2011 Election in Parkdale–High Park In 2011, Kennedy sought re-election to his Parkdale–High Park seat against Peggy Nash in a rematch of the 2008 campaign. The campaign was heated at times, and on election night, harnessing the NDP's unprecedented levels of support, Nash defeated him to regain her old seat. 2013 Ontario Liberal Leadership Race On November 12, 2012, Kennedy announced that he was seeking the leadership of the Ontario Liberal Party to replace Dalton McGuinty. At his campaign launch in London, Kennedy criticized the government's Bill 115 to ban teacher's strikes and freeze wages. Of the seven candidates, Kennedy has said he would consider repealing the bill. Former Liberal MPP Steve Peters gave his endorsement at the launch. On November 16, 2012, he gained the formal support of former cabinet minister George Smitherman and Joseph Cordiano On November 21, 2012, Niagara Falls MPP Kim Craitor endorsed Kennedy. Kennedy has also gained the support of MPP's Bob Delaney,and Shafiq Qaadri. Early polls placed Kennedy ahead of other candidates to replace Premier McGuinty, helped by his name recognition from his federal and provincial work, and his role as director of the Food Bank. In a poll of Ontarion released on November 29, 2012 by Forum Research, 37% said they would support Kennedy, followed by Sandra Pupatello (23%), Kathleen Wynne