B.C. Election: In waning days of campaign, leaders pull out all the stops to woo Surrey voters

Nita and Parma Lingam, longtime Surrey residents, participate in every election and hope their ballots cast Wednesday afternoon at an advanced voting station lead to a change in leadership in B.C.

The couple wouldn’t say who they cast their ballots for but said they’ve been disappointed in decisions made by the current government.

“When it’s the election, they say they’re going to do this and that for us, so we keep that in mind. We expect them to create a better future for us,” said Nita, who lives in the Surrey-Serpentine riding. “We’re looking forward to a better government and the best future ahead for us and our children.”

Her husband Parma said he is “OK” with the current NDP government but wants promises delivered more quickly, especially as they relate to health-care services and housing.

“Sometimes they make promises but do other things and that’s a problem,” he said.

Surrey’s 10 ridings appear to be turning into pivotal areas for both the NDP and the Conservative parties in the waning days of the provincial campaign. NDP Leader David Eby was in Surrey on Wednesday for the sixth time, reminding residents of the Cloverdale hospital under construction that is slated to be a second hospital for Surrey and a B.C. cancer centre.

Conservative Leader Lorne Doerkson has also paid Surrey attention, most recently promising to build a SkyTrain extension into Newton, which was an election promise by mayor-elect Doug McCallum. Eby also pledged to fund the project, minutes after the Tory promise. Both have also said they would build another hospital in Surrey that McCallum is offering city-owned land for.

In 2024, Surrey went mostly blue, with many former NDP strongholds switching to the Conservatives.

The race was very close in some ridings. The Surrey-Guildford riding came down to a difference of only 22 votes, with the NDP’s Garry Begg ultimately winning the seat after an automatic judicial recount.

Surrey-Panorama and Surrey-City Centre were also very close. The Panorama riding only had a difference of 1.5 per cent, with Conservative candidate Bryan Tepper narrowly beating the NDP’s Jinny Sims, the incumbent at the time. The two are facing off again in the same riding.

In City Centre, New Democrat Amnah Shah beat out Conservative Zeeshan Wahla by a difference of only 1.6 per cent. Shah and Wahla are once again contesting the seat.

These facts seem to be on the mind of both parties, as they continue to aggressively campaign in Surrey. Doerkson announced on social media that he is holding a rally in Surrey on Thursday.

Eby, meanwhile, is also drawing focus to Surrey, noting how it’s on its way to becoming the largest city in the province, “and it’s time this city was treated like it,” he said Wednesday.

Some ridings have seen a big jump in advanced voter turnout. A total of 7,369 voters cast early ballots from Oct. 16 to 19 in the Surrey-Serpentine riding, according to Elections B.C., an increase of about 65 per cent from the first four days of advance voting in 2024.

Five candidates are in contention: Judy Higginbotham of CentreBC; Todd Holowchak of OneBC; Sikander Kang of the NDP; Errol Povah of the Freedom Party of B.C.; and Jessy Sahota of the Conservative party.

The incumbent in the riding is Linda Hepner, who was part of the Conservative party until she left caucus one month ago. Hepner isn’t seeking re-election.

Balvinder Dhadda was also voting Wednesday in Surrey-Serpentine at T.E. Scott Elementary, telling Postmedia News that he’s “not happy” with how things are going in the province.

“It’s the taxes here. We are paying so much money, but they are not using it correctly,” Dhadda said. “Health care, education, I don’t think it’s that good here. Whoever comes in, they should think about that because it’s very poor now.”

B.K. Kakadiya also cast his vote Wednesday, marking the first time he has ever voted.

“I’m just looking for good governance in my district and I think Canada needs more turnout in elections,” Kakadiya said. “I want to see less taxes, good roads, good schools, things like that.”