New Surrey-Serpentine River riding could be election bellwether
CBC
Surrey, one of the fastest growing cities in B.C., is getting a new riding in this election — one that could prove to be a bellwether for who forms the next provincial government.
The B.C. NDP and the B.C. Conservatives are running star candidates in Surrey-Serpentine River.
Linda Hepner is on the ballot for the B.C. Conservatives. She spent two decades working for the city of Surrey before winning a spot as a city councillor for three terms and taking the mayor's seat from 2014 to 2018.
"What I bring to the table is experience in government," she told CBC News during a visit to her campaign office. "I think my deep government understanding is what will be needed in a new [Conservative] government."
Hepner lives in Surrey South, just outside the new riding, but says her connections to the region run deep.
She's facing off against the NDP's Baltej Singh Dhillon, a retired RCMP inspector who lives directly in the contested district.
He was the first Mountie to wear a turban on the job, paving the way in 1991 for religious accommodation in the national police force.
"I had to fight racism, fight discrimination and prejudice both inside and outside. It was a hard fought fight," he told CBC News.
Dhillon said he sees some of those same issues coming up now, pointing to statements made by a number of B.C. Conservative candidates that were offensive to the Muslim community, 2SLGBTQ+ community and Indigenous people.
"As I come into this world to lend some expertise to the work that's already underway on public safety, [the B.C. NDP] is a party I can stand with, my values align, so do my principles," he said.
Dhillon's Surrey home was the venue when NDP Leader David Eby unveiled the party's campaign bus on Sept. 20 and when he announced the party's platform.
Also vying for the new electoral district is Independent candidate Jim McMurtry, a former teacher. The B.C. Green Party does not have a candidate running in the riding.
Surrey-Serpentine River is made up of parts of three previous ridings: Surrey-Cloverdale, Surrey-Fleetwood and Surrey-Panorama.
It includes some areas where the NDP did well in 2020, and parts that have historically favoured a centre-right party.
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