Premier John Horgan has called a byelection for the Vancouver-Quilchena riding that could give BC Liberal leader Kevin Falcon a chance to gain a seat in the legislature.
The election is scheduled for Saturday, April 30. Former BC Liberal leader Andrew Wilkinson previously held the seat for Vancouver-Quilchena but left it vacant when he resigned as MLA on Feb. 17, 2022.
Falcon is a former BC Liberal cabinet minister. He served as minister of transportation, minister of finance, minister of health and deputy premier over an 11-year career in provincial politics. Falcon was previously elected as MLA for Cloverdale-Surrey in 2005 and 2009.
READ MORE: Kevin Falcon wins B.C. Liberal leadership race
Jeanette Ashe will be running for the NDP. Ashe is the chair of the political science department at Douglas College and is married to Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart.
Wendy Hayko will run for the BC Greens. Hayko is an emergency management expert who has worked with organizations at the local, regional and international levels to prepare for, respond to, and recover from emergencies such as fires, floods, epidemics and wildfires.
The BC Liberals have dominated the Vancouver-Quilchena riding since 1991. It was previously held by Art Cowie, Gordon Campbell, Colin Hansen and Andrew Wilkinson.
This will be the first by-election to make use of recent changes to the Elections Act. Poll workers can now use electronic tabulators to count paper ballots and electronic voting books to look up voters and cross them off the voters list.
READ MORE: B.C. implements changes to the Elections Act to ‘modernize’ voting process
Voters over the age of 18 who reside within the Vancouver-Quilchena electoral district will be able to vote in advance polls on April 22, 27 and 30. Elections BC will notify voters of voting locations in the coming days.
Voters can vote at the Vancouver-Quilchena district electoral office during office hours from now until 4 p.m. on April 30. The office is located at 200-1985 Broadway W, Vancouver, and is open Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Voters can also vote by mail. Voting packages can be requested on Elections BC’s website or by calling 1-800-661-8683.
@SchislerCole
cole.schisler@bpdigital.ca
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