In 2013: Liberal Peter Fassbender narrowly won the riding by 200 votes 45.4 per cent – 44.4 per cent. The changes to the riding’s boundaries slightly favour the NDP to the point where, if you transpose the 2013 results on the new boundaries, the NDP would have won this seat with by 627 votes (46.9 per cent — 43.4 per cent). Still, in 2013 Fassbender boosted the BC Liberal vote by 2,100 while the NDP remained static from 2009. Fassbender has profile, recognition and the incumbent’s advantage, but we’ll see if that’s enough to win.
In 2009: The NDP’s Jagrup Brar, formerly the MLA for Surrey-Panorama, won this newly created riding, defeating Liberal candidate Jagmohan Singh by nearly 2,000 votes, 49-40 per cent.
History & Geography: Created for the 2009 election when Surrey gained an additional seat, the riding comprises the general Fleetwood area. It is centred around the Fraser Highway from 148th to 164th Street.
Candidates
Liberals – Peter Fassbender: Minister of Community, Sport, Cultural Development and Minister Responsible for TransLink. Fassbender previously was Minister of Education. Fassbender was elected as a councillor in Langley 2002, then mayor in 2005. He is the former Chair of the Mayors’ Council on Regional Transportation, and has sat on many Metro Vancouver and Fraser Valley committees during his political career.
NDP – Jagrup Brar: Former MLA who was defeated in 2013. Brar was first elected in a 2004 by-election, defeating future cabinet minister Mary Polak. Before entering politics, he was the executive director of a Surrey entrepreneur group, and worked in the public and non-profit sectors. Born in India, he was once on the country’s national basketball team.
Greens – Tim Binnema: Repeat Green Party candidate. An engineer, Binnema works for A.H. Lundberg Systems Limited as a manager. Raised in Telkwa, Binnema graduated from BCIT, and is a canvasser for the Canadian Cancer Society.
2017 Stats: Surrey-Fleetwood
Population (2014): 60,477 (12th)
Population Deviation from Average: 13.9 per cent
Area: 17 sq km (74th)
Pop Density: 3,557.5 (14th)
Average Age: 37.7 years (78th)
English as Second Language: 55.24 per cent (12th)
Top 3 Second Languages:
Panjabi (Punjabi) – 22.37 per cent
Tagalog (Pilipino, Filipino) – 5.38 per cent
Vietnamese – 3.16 per cent
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