The Dec. 16 byelection was triggered by the resignation of of Aldag in May, with Aldag deciding to join the B.C. NDP in the provincial election.
Coming in second and third in the byelection were Liberal candidate Madison Fleischer and NDP candidate Vanessa Sharma respectively.
A voter casts his ballot in the Dec. 16 byelection at a polling station at the George Greenaway Elementary School in Surrey, B.C.. Jeff Sandes/The Epoch Times
A polling station at the George Greenaway Elementary School in Surrey, B.C., on Dec. 16, 2024. Jeff Sandes/The Epoch Times
Voters Speak Out
Cloverdale resident Werner Kottke took no chances and voted early in the byelection. With several signs supporting the Conservative candidate and denouncing the carbon tax on his property, he said the current government doesn’t represent him and he wants to see change.
“I really don’t think the government that’s in charge right now is doing a good job for the people,” Kottke told The Epoch Times.
“I think the Conservative Party is more geared toward the people and trying to alleviate the problems we’re having with prices going up, fuel, carbon tax—it’s killing me. And it’s killing my business, too. I’m a truck driver, owner operator, and it’s hard to make money now.”
Kottke said another factor for him is that pride in Canada as a stable, patient, and peaceful country has eroded under the current government. “We’re a laughing stock around the world now,” he said.
Campaign signs in support of Conservative candidate Tamara Jansen outside of the home of suporter Werner Kottke in Surrey, B.C., on Dec. 16, 2024. Jeff Sandes/The Epoch Times
The campaign office of Liberal candidate Madison Fleischer in Surrey, B.C., on Dec. 16, 2024. Jeff Sandes/The Epoch Times
Liberal supporters Muriel, who declined to give her last name out of privacy concerns, and her husband disagreed with Kottke, saying the nation is still in good shape under Trudeau’s leadership.
“[Conservatives] are too Trumpish,” she said.
“I think it could be worse, you know? I think we’re fine. I think we’re okay.”
Anomaly vs Norm
Sanjay Jeram, senior lecturer in political science at the Simon Fraser University, says the fact that the riding has flipped from Liberal to Conservative to Liberal and back again is more of an anomaly than the political norm, and that a Tory win is more expected in that riding.
While Trudeau added some electoral strength in 2015 when the Liberals first won the riding, and the COVID years drove their support to reclaim the seat in 2021, the Jansen victory on Dec. 16 shouldn’t be viewed as a surprise, Jeram said.
“I think it’s more of an aberrational blip that the Liberals won, ever,” he said in an interview.