Vancouver lawyer Andrew Wilkinson is the new B.C. Liberal candidate for the riding of Vancouver-Quilchena.
Wilkinson won the riding at a nomination meeting at Prince of Wales Secondary Sunday, beating former Vancouver councillor Suzanne Anton. More than 1,400 votes were cast.
“I’m looking forward to working with Premier Christy Clark to ensure we keep B.C. on the right track in May,” said Wilkinson in a written statement.
In his speech to party voters earlier in the day, Wilkinson said one of his key goals as MLA will be to ensure young graduates have jobs and opportunities in this province so they won’t have to flee to Alberta or California.
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He promised to continue the Liberal’s “prudent fiscal approach,” improve health care, education and infrastructure to attract investors and create jobs, and improve “customer service” from the provincial government.
Wilkinson, a partner at McCarthy Tétrault, is also a licensed doctor, a Rhodes scholar, past-president of the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, and past-president of the B.C. Liberal party.
Before he joined the law firm in 2006, Wilkinson served as deputy minister for the B.C. Ministry of Economic Development and deputy minister for intergovernmental relations under former premier Gordon Campbell.
The Vancouver-Quilchena riding, currently represented by outgoing MLA Colin Hansen, is seen as a Liberal stronghold. Hansen garnered 70 per cent of votes cast in 2009.
Wilkinson was born in Australia and immigrated to Canada when he was four. He lives in Vancouver-Quilchena with his wife and three children.
Wilkinson is not the only recent addition to the B.C. Liberal’s slate.
Last week, Pemberton mayor Jordan Sturdy won the nomination to represent the party in the riding of West Vancouver-Sea to Sky, while longtime Langley city mayor Peter Fassbender is making a bid for provincial politics in Surrey-Fleetwood.
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