B.C. election 2017: Abbotsford South riding

In 2013, University of the Fraser Valley Criminologist Darryl Plecas won this seat for the Liberals (47 per cent to 27 per cent), coming in as a ‘star candidate’ to face former BC Liberal MLA John van Dongen, who resigned from the party in 2012. This is a safe liberal seat.

In 2009, BC Liberal John van Dongen won the riding by more than 5,500 votes over NDP challenger Bonnie Rai, 59 to 25 per cent.

History & Geography: Riding boundaries have changed, now encompasses part of the former Fort Langley-Aldergrove. The riding was created in 2009 to deal with population growth in the Fraser Valley.

Candidates

BC Liberals – Darryl Plecas: A criminologist, Plecas has degrees from Harvard, UBC, and SFU. He’s had a relatively low profile in Victoria, and holds the role as Parliamentary Secretary for Crime Reduction to the Minister of Justice.

NDP – Jasleen Arora: works for the The BC Initiative for Inclusive Post-Secondary Education (BC-IPSE) and Steps Forward at SFU. She is a Burnaby resident with a bachelor’s degree in criminology and psychology from SFU, and has an M.Sc. in leadership and organizations.

Green – Aird Flavelle: A perennial Green candidate, Flavelle ran for the party provincially in 2013, federally in 2015, and has run in civic elections in Abbotsford in 2008, 2011, and 2014. He is the founder of MSA Computers, an IT company.

Christian Heritage – Ron Gray: The Christian Heritage Party —  a libertarian party with a Christian focus — is running five Candidates in 2017, after fielding two candidates in the 2013 provincial election.

2017 Stats: Abbotsford South

Population (2014): 61,997 (4th)
Population Deviation from Average: 16.7 per cent
Area: 243 sq km (46th)
Pop Density: 255.1 (42th)
Average Age: 38.9 years (71th)
English as Second Language: 25.49 per cent (36th)

Top 3 Second Languages:
Panjabi (Punjabi) – 11.36 per cent
German – 4.16 per cent
Dutch – 1.08 per cent