New Surrey-Serpentine River riding could be election bellwether
Both the NDP and B.C. Conservatives are running star candidates in suburban riding
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.
New riding made of 3 previous ones
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.
Demographic data compiled by Andy Yan, head of Simon Fraser University's City Program, shows 48 per cent of those living in the riding are of South Asian descent.
Nearly three quarters are homeowners — a higher proportion than the province overall.
The median age in the riding is 37, compared to 42 provincially, and there's a higher proportion of children aged 14 or younger.
Residents who spoke to CBC News said the big issues there are health care, affordability and public safety — especially as divisions continue over the province's decision to force Surrey to stick with its city police force.
"Health care, housing.... I know for my kids, they need to be able to afford a house one day," said resident Sachin Kumar, whose grown daughters live with him and his wife.
"I think I made up my mind already that we need change," he said, noting that he'll be voting Conservative.
Resident Shachi Yappa said she worries about the price of groceries and housing, and would like to see increased subsidies to help working families.
She said she's undecided on which party she'll support but said she hasn't heard solutions from either side that would solve the affordability crisis.
Conservative candidate Linda Hepner said she thinks Surrey has been neglected under the NDP, pointing to the number of school portables that have ballooned in recent years as an example.
"You cannot double portables and not say you're failing. You're failing," she said. "I think Surrey has been a second-class citizen for far too long."
NDP candidate Baltej Dhillon agreed Surrey has been neglected, but placed the blame on the former B.C. Liberal government, which sold the land planned for a second Surrey hospital and did not build enough schools to keep up with the growing student population.
He praised the NDP for building schools, a new hospital tower in Cloverdale and a new medical school.
"We're trying to work from that neglect forward. If anything, the B.C. NDP has corrected that course and are doing all the things that the [B.C. Liberals] made promises around."
Surrey has 10 electoral ridings, all of which are expected to be closely fought battlegrounds.
As the NDP and Conservatives remain in a tight race ahead of voting day on Oct. 19, candidates will be busy knocking on doors and hitting the streets to try to sway undecided voters.
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