Taking on an incumbent MP can be daunting, but itB次元官网网址檚 not an unfamiliar role for Frances Litman, who has always seen herself in the role of underdog.

B次元官网网址淲hen you talk about how has your life experience affected you, I suppose somewhere deep in my soul I saw myself as an underdog and related to those less privileged,B次元官网网址� said Litman, 53.

An Island resident since age two, she grew up in Saanich and attended Reynolds secondary before moving to Esquimalt.

High school was a time of profound and life-altering change for Litman. She landed a job with the Times Colonist and by graduation was living on her own after losing her parents to health issues.

B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 made me very B次元官网网址� well, IB次元官网网址檝e never had anyone to rely on. It makes you very determined to make a success of yourself because thereB次元官网网址檚 no one really to give you a leg up. IB次元官网网址檝e worked very hard because I guess thereB次元官网网址檚 that underlying fear that I donB次元官网网址檛 want to be homeless.B次元官网网址�

Litman went to both Camosun and UVic, studying business administration and applied communications, then took a year-long photography course.

B次元官网网址淭hat really piqued my interest and I started my own business,B次元官网网址� said Litman, who ran her photo studio during the day and worked for the newspaper at night. Eventually, she gained the confidence to leave the security of a regular paycheque behind and focused on her photography business. It was her connection with the underdog that spurred LitmanB次元官网网址檚 involvement with environmental causes and eventually the Green Party. B次元官网网址淢y underdog became the environment when I discovered that less than three per cent of all charitable giving goes to environmental charities,B次元官网网址� she saId.

About five years ago Litman began Creatively United For the Planet, an Earth Week festival dedicated to empowering individuals and communities to take better care of the Earth. The festival raised her profile among environmental organizations, and the Green Party came calling earlier this year asking her to become a candidate.

B次元官网网址淚 thought if I can make a difference that can finally affect policy and make the changes we need to move forward so we do have a world worth living in, then IB次元官网网址檓 willing to do that,B次元官网网址� she said.