Fraser Valley voters see new riding, candidates talk transportation

With a new riding and some politicians jumping between federal and provincial races, voters in the Fraser Valley are looking at some interesting changes on the ballot come Oct. 19.

The Langley-Abbotsford riding is a new one in this year’s race. The BC NDP candidate in this riding is a name voters may recognize from federal politics. John Aldag, who previously represented the Langley-Cloverdale riding in Parliament, is making the switch to provincial politics.

Aldag’s Conservative opponent, Harman Bhangu, has made some waves recently due to his controversial views on the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Bhangu has been said to share “anti-democratic conspiracy theories that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump and that the January 6 riots at the capitol are a hoax orchestrated by Democrats,” according to a letter from BC NDP Leader David Eby. Eby wrote the letter to urge Conservative Leader John Rustad to consider dropping Bhangu and six other candidates based on their controversial views.

A well known name voters won’t be seeing on the ballot this time around is Mike De Jong. In February, the long-time Abbotsford South MLA announced he was not seeking reelection provincially. In April, he threw his hat into the federal race, seeking the Conservative nomination in Abbotsford.

An MLA in the region is also making a switch, but between parties. Bruce Banman, who has previously represented BC United, is now running under the Conservative banner after crossing the floor in September of last year to join the party.

Transportation becoming key issue in region

Both the BC Conservatives and the BC NDP have made promises to expand transportation in Fraser Valley if elected.

John Rustad says his party would add an additional lane each way on Highway 1 into Chilliwack. This is something that the previous BC NDP government had already started working on, with millions of dollars invested into expanding the route into Abbotsford.

BC NDP Party Leader David Eby is making promises related to public transit. If reelected, Eby is looking to expand the West Coast Express into Chilliwack. Currently, the eastern-most station of the commuter rail line is in Mission.

With files from Emma Crawford and Charlie Carey.