Voters in Vancouver-Quilchena set to head to the polls for provincial byelection
A byelection has been called in the Vancouver-Quilchena riding, a BC Liberal stronghold that has been without an MLA since since Andrew Wilkinson vacated the seat.
The vote will take place on April 30, according to a statement from Elections BC Saturday. Nominations are open until April 9, and the final list of candidates will be posted online that day.
Wilkinson resigned as party leader in 2020, after the NDP won a majority in the provincial election. Kevin Falcon was chosen as leader in February, and Wilkinson resigned his seat soon after.
The Vancouver-Quilchena riding has been held by a BC Liberal since 1991 and is considered one of the safest for the Liberal Party. It’s common practice for a sitting MLA to offer their seat to a leader who doesn’t currently hold a riding.
Falcon confirmed his intention to run soon after the byelection was called.
“Ten years ago I left politics for my young girls. I’m returning to politics, not just for them, but for their entire generation,” he said in a statement.
The NDP say Jeanette Ashe, an academic, will be their candidate.
The B.C. Green Party announced on Thursday that emergency management expert Wendy Hayko would be their candidate.
The B.C. Libertarian Party is putting forward Sandra Filosof-Schipper as its candidate.
The byelection will see new technology introduced. Electronic vote tabulators will be used, and the paper voter list will be scrapped for an electronic version. According to Elections BC, this will make the voting process smoother, and allow for results to be reported faster.
With files from The Canadian Press and CTV News Vancouver's Penny Daflos
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