Rocco Rossi's announcement of his mayoral candidacy in Toronto could put a kayaker in the cockpit of Canada's largest city.

Story by Tim Shuff

We first heard about Rocco Rossi in 2006 when, as CEO of the Canadian Heart and Stroke Foundation, he raised $150,000 by solo paddling 480 kilometres from Toronto to Ottawa.

Rossi went on to become the national director of Canada's federal Liberal Party, and this summer combined paddling and politics by heading up the Rideau Canal again, this time kayaking from Kingston to Ottawa to raise funds for Michael Ignatieff.

In this YouTube clip he shares a nature moment on the journey:

We saw the man's persuasive potential back in '06 when we ran a story about his Heart and Stroke trip and quoted some meditative musings from his blog. The blog's not posted anymore, but fortunately our back issues are. Without further ado, some words from Toronto's next mayor:

On waves:
“Bob, weave and embrace the motion and you can have a lot of fun and stay upright! Kind of like life, I was thinking as I bobbed out there like a cork. Lots of times I try to control too much and it just leads to problems. Embracing what comes and surfing the wave rather than fighting it is something this trip is reminding me I need to do more of.”

On solitude:
“Nietzche got it wrong—God is not dead, but the stillness that allows us to connect with the divine is under considerable attack by the busy, noisy, chaotic world that surrounds us. Embrace your alone time and you can embrace that which is truly special.”

On finishing:
“I remember being told that the West Coast Indians believe that a person shouldn’t travel faster than he can walk or paddle because if he does so, he will leave his spirit behind. As our lives speed up, I think we do lose our bearings sometimes and that could well be a symptom of losing our connection with our spirit, or soul if you will. Nineteen days of a more human pace had allowed me to better integrate mind, spirit and body.”

Could this be Canada's rising political star? Will he surf the wave right into city hall? If the man's regard for nature and philosophy are any indication of his politics, we hope so.

Plus, if you say it really fast, doesn't "Rocco" sounds a lot like "Barack O..."?