The NDP’s Jagrup Brar has been re-elected in Surrey-Fleetwood.
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| Jagrup Brar hugs his wife Ranjwant after being re-elected in Surrey-Fleetwood. (Photo submitted) |
“I would like to commend my sincere thanks to the people of Surrey-Fleetwood for putting their faith in me,” Brar told the Now-Leader from his campaign office.
“I will do my best to stand up for them in Victoria over the very pressing issues in Surrey.”
Brar says those issues include managing COVID-19 while keeping the economy going, building a new hospital in Surrey, building SkyTrain to Langley and the new Pattullo Bridge.
Brar says the election results show the NDP have been getting results in B.C.
“The people have elected a government that works for people, to make life better for everyone,” he said. “But there’s more to do. And that work starts tomorrow.”
Brar, incumbent MLA, held onto the riding for his party in a decisive win. The veteran NDP MLA was elected in 2004, 2005, 2009 and 2017, in which year he received 52 per cent of the vote.
This election, two candidates sought to retire him from office: The Liberal’s Garry Thind, who is on leave from his position as a Surrey school trustee, and BC Green Party candidate Dean McGee.
Brar started his political career in Surrey as the NDP MLA for Surrey-Panorama Ridge but migrated from that riding to run for office in Surrey-Fleetwood in 2009, when he became the riding’s first-ever MLA with 49.29 per cent of the vote.
Brar was the NDP MLA for Surrey-Panorama Ridge from 2004 to 2009, and held Surrey-Fleetwood from 2009 to 2013 when Liberal Peter Fassbender defeated him.
As Liberal MLA for Surrey-Fleetwood, Fassbender served as minister of education, and minister of community, sport, cultural development and minister responsible for TransLink. In the 2013 election he took 45.65 per cent of the popular vote, defeating runner-up Brar by 265 votes.
Surrey-Fleetwood is a suburban riding that was established under the Electoral Districts Act in 2008. It has a population of 60,477 and its average age is 37.7 years old. It is 17 square kilometres in size and for 55.24 per cent of its residents, English is a second language.
Due to the pandemic, more Surrey residents have decided to vote by mail-in ballot than ever before. Election results won’t be finalized until after Nov. 6. In Surrey-Fleetwood, 6,129 ballots were issued to the riding’s 36,961 registered voters. That’s about 17 per cent of eligible voters receiving vote-by-mail packages.
Candidates:
We asked each candidate a simple question. “Why are you the best candidate in your riding?” We asked them to keep their pitch to 150 words. For those candidates who did not respond, we made every effort to tell you a little something about them or at the very least, send you in the right direction to learn about them.
Jagrup Brar
NDP
Jagrup Brar is the BC NDP candidate from Surrey-Fleetwood. An incumbent candidate, Jagrup has been a strong voice for the people of his community. Jagrup was the BC Government Caucus Chair and previously served as the Official Opposition Spokesperson for Small Business, Healthy Living and Sport, Employment and Income Assistance, as well Solicitor General and Public Safety. For over a decade, Jagrup worked in the non-profit sector.
As the Executive Director of the Surrey Self Employment and Entrepreneur Development Society (SEEDS), Jagrup trained new entrepreneurs to develop and launch successful small business ventures. Jagrup has been active in the Surrey community and has worked with a variety of local organizations providing services to young people, seniors, the homeless, and new Canadians. Jagrup is an advocate for the most vulnerable, and undertook the Welfare Challenge to tell a story of about living in poverty in B.C.
Jagrup lives in Surrey with his wife Rajwant and their two children, Noor and Fateh.
Dean McGee
Green Party
Dean McGee is a parent and a parent advocate in Surrey. He has been past-president and spokesperson for the Surrey District Parent Advisory Council, raising concerns of Surrey parents in the community.
He and his wife are raising three children in the Fleetwood area. He grew up in Fleetwood and in North Delta with parents who worked for the City of Surrey and the Surrey School District.
He works as a surveyor, having worked on projects including the Port Mann Highway 1 in Surrey.
He co-founded the left-green Proudly Surrey party in the 2018 municipal elections, when he ran for Surrey school board. His goal is to see public services like public schools, healthcare, and transportation serve all people, while taking care of the planet for future generations
Garry Thind
Liberal
We did not receive a response.
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