B.C. election 2017: Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows riding

BC Liberal incumbent Doug Bing won the 2013 election by a margin of 45.5 per cent to 42.9 per cent. This area has traditionally always been a dogfight. Bing increased the Liberal vote by 1,300 votes while the NDP went up by just 400. The Greens gained 1,025 votes, which appears to have been at the expense of more growth for the NDP.

In 2009: NDP incumbent Michael Sather held on to this riding in a close race, defeating Ken Stewart by 170 votes, 47-46 per cent.

History & Geography: Part of the old Dewdney riding that spanned the entire northern Fraser Valley for decades, Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows has become more urban as its two namesakes have grown, and now spans from Pitt River to 224th Street. The riding has gone to the NDP in four of the last five elections, with the party’s support based in the centre of Pitt Meadows.

Candidates

Liberals – Doug Bing: A Liberal back-bencher, Bing serves both the Health and Aboriginal Affairs Committees. A dentist by trade, Bing served on Pitt Meadows city council from 2005 to 2013.

NDP – Lisa Beare: A Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows School Board trustee and flight attendant, Beare has a long history of union involvement. She also served two terms on the board of directors for Variety, the Children’s Charity.

Greens – Alex Pope: A computer programmer/analyst/consultant, Pope was the Green Party candidate in Maple Ridge-Mission in the 2013 provincial election, and has twice run for Maple Ridge Council.

Independent – Steve Ranta: A retired teacher, Ranta ran as an independent in the 2014 federal election.

Conservatives – Gary O’Driscoll: O’Driscoll is the manager of a retail store. The BC Conservatives are a mere shadow of the party from the 2013 campaign, when they fielded 56 candidates.
They are running 10 candidates in 2017. It’s a small-government, right-of-centre party.

2017 Stats: Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows

Population (2014): 58,287 (34th)
Population Deviation from Average: 9.7 per cent
Area: 1,980 sq km (28th)
Pop Density: 29.4 (60th)
Average Age: 40.3 years (49th)
English as Second Language: 15.29 per cent (47th)

Top 3 Second Languages:
Panjabi (Punjabi) – 1.64 per cent
German – 1.21 per cent
Tagalog (Pilipino, Filipino) – 1.01 per cent