Frankly Speaking

Delta MP Carla Qualtrough was one of the five Liberal MPs elected in the 2015 federal election in Surrey and Delta. All but one of those wins came in ridings where the Liberals have had a hard time being competitive for decades. The broken promise on electoral reform may hurt their re-election chances, as in all five ridings they won, the winning Liberal candidates took significant numbers of votes from the NDP. The federal Liberal government pulled the plug on electoral reform last week – and the fallout in Surrey and Delta may not be fully noticed until the next election in 2019. Four of the six local MPs commented after the about-face by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. They said the reversal was disappointing, but not completely surprising, given the magnitude of the task and the lack of consensus about a new system. Conservative MP Dianne Watts took the opportunity to tease her Liberal opponents (five of the six local seats are held by Liberals), saying “that was a prom...

A wonderful statue of Arthur Thomas Fleetwood, in his First World War uniform, stands outside the Fleetwood Community Centre complex at 84 Avenue and 160 Street. It is one of the few public remembrances of veterans are in Surrey. Hopefully, the recent attention paid to "Charlie's Tree" in Port Kells will lead to some more recognition. The fall to the ground of “Charlie’s Tree” along Highway 1 in Port Kells has attracted a lot of attention. The 300-year-old Douglas fir came to public attention in the early 1960s, when it was scheduled to be cut down to make room for the new freeway. Highways Minister Phil Gaglardi, who had been compared to Roman road builders by his boss, Premier W.A.C. Bennett, was determined to have a straight-as-an-arrow road running into the Fraser Valley. However, he hadn’t reckoned with Charlie Perkins. The longtime Port Kells resident and First World War flying corps veteran had a special area at the rear of his 96 Avenue property that ...

Surrey and Delta voters chose to go a different direction Monday, with five of the six local ridings now Liberal. Other than Sukh Dhaliwal in Surrey-Newton, who will return to Ottawa as a Liberal MP (he served from 2006-2011), all the MPs elected from the area are new to federal politics. The heavy Liberal representation from this area is a significant change. Most areas of Surrey have not been represented by a Liberal in Ottawa since 1953, while in Delta the most recent Liberal MP was last in office in 1972. What caused this change?   Voters were hungry for it, for a number of reasons. The Conservatives’ governing style turned off many people. Changes to immigration policy, particularly in areas like family reunification, were unpopular with many. The niqab issue was disquieting to recent immigrants. The Liberals ran a positive campaign. Justin Trudeau, who visited Surrey several times, appealed to younger voters. Strategic voting was given a high profile by the media and...

It is quite possible that voters in Surrey and Delta will be taking part in the most competitive elections in many years, for all or most of the six local seats in the House of Commons. That is likely why many came out to vote at advance polls over the weekend. Across Canada, 3.6 million voted at the four-day advance polls – up 71 per cent from the 2011 totals. In Surrey, a number of voting stations had lengthy lineups at times over the weekend. Elections Canada clearly had not expected so many to come and vote early. It seems certain that voter turnout will be up in this election. There are a number of reasons. It has been a lengthy election campaign, the longest in modern Canadian history, so very few people can say they aren’t aware of it. The prime minister has been in office for almost 10 years and, as a result of decisions made over that period, there is clearly a mood for change among many. Strategic voting has been highlighted more than ever, and has been aided by se...