BC Liberals retain Surrey South riding in by-election

SURREY, BC – The BC Liberal Party retained a seat in the riding of Surrey South following a by-election to replace a longtime member of the Legislative Assembly.

Elenore Sturko, a future former RCMP sergeant, won more than half the vote to succeed former Liberal cabinet minister Stephanie Cadieux, who resigned in April to become Canada’s first chief accessibility officer.

Sturko defeated NDP candidate Pauline Greaves, a teacher at Langara School of Management, who made a second attempt to claim the seat after losing to Cadieux in the 2020 provincial election by just under 1,200 votes.

Elections BC figures show Sturko won 52% of the vote, with Greaves securing 30% of support in a constituency where candidates from three other parties trailed far behind.

BC Conservative Party candidate Harman Bhangu, who owns a trucking company, snatched nearly 13% of the vote, university student Simran Sarai ran for the BC Green Party and won over 3% of the vote, while 2% went to Jason Bax of the Libertarians.

Sturko says healthcare was the top concern for residents, while business owners worry about public transit issues and labor shortages in the community where she got first-hand insight into the issues related to the overdose crisis.

« I often went to people’s homes, talked to people with addictions, family and loved ones of others who were struggling and even those who lost loved ones, » she said. said after claiming victory on Saturday, when she planned to celebrate with her family, including her parents from Winnipeg.

Issues surrounding the NDP’s promise to build a second hospital in the Cloverdale area of ​​Surrey from next year have also been controversial in the community as the plan proposed so far is ‘inadequate’ due to the absence of a maternity hospital in one of the country’s fastest growing cities, Sturko said

Greaves said the former Liberal government broke a promise and sold the land for what would have been another hospital in Surrey.

Greaves, who has lived in the South Surrey area for more than 30 years, could not be reached for comment after the by-election, for which 11,000 votes were counted.

The NDP government announced earlier this year that it would build the hospital for $1.72 billion.

This report from The Canadian Press was first published on September 10, 2022.

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