BC Liberal leadership candidate Ellis Ross visited Maple Ridge on Wednesday, drumming up support for his bid to head the party.

“I had such an engaging conversation with concerned British Columbians in Maple Ridge. I was lucky enough to get a tour with mayor Mike Morden, a really great hard working guy who gets the issues,” the Skeena MLA wrote in social media.

“Believe it or not, the challenges facing this community remind me quite a bit of some of the challenges the people of my riding faced in Terrace.

“Families don’t want to have to commute for hours each way every day just to get a good paying job, pay a mortgage and feed their family. These folks all agree that we need solutions that drive economic development close to home.”

Angie Rowell said Ross engaged locals on issues such as homelessness and the economy in a meeting at the Townhall Public House.

“Ross has caught the attention of suburbanites trying to survive the perilous trends of post-pandemic inflation, wage suppression and social ails affecting broad swaths of British Columbia,” she said.

READ ALSO: Political veteran Kevin Falcon set for 2nd run at B.C. Liberal leadership

The BC Liberal Party will chose a new leader on Feb. 5, 2022, and the former chief councillor of the Haisla Nation, who is a recipient of the Order of Canada, is up against some better known candidates. Kevin Falcon was the deputy premier of B.C. and runner-up in the party leadership race in 2011, and Michael Lee, MLA for Vancouver-Langara finished third in the 2018 leadership vote.

READ ALSO: Political newcomer joins contest for B.C. Liberal leadership

Val Litwin, CEO of the British Columbia Chamber of Commerce, and political strategist Gavin Dew are also in the running.

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