BC NDP incumbent Jinny Sims will be re-elected in Surrey-Panorama, Global News projects.
The party picked up the riding during its Metro Vancouver surge in 2017, and saw it as a must-hold in its quest to form a majority government this time at the polls.
Sims defeated BC Liberal candidate Dr. Gulzar Cheema, who served as MLA for the area from 2001-2004.
The riding was the second closest race of all the Surrey seats in 2017, with Sims winning by a little less than 2,200 votes.
Sims, a former BC Teachers’ Federation president, served as minister of citizens services in John Horgan’s government but resigned in October 2019 because of an RCMP investigation. She has since been cleared of all wrongdoing.
Both the BC NDP and the BC Liberals poured resources into the battle for Surrey, which encompasses nine of the province’s ridings. Both leaders made several campaign stops in the rapidly growing city.
The Liberals waded into the debate over Mayor Doug McCallum’s plan to transition from the Surrey RCMP to a municipal police force, pledging to hold a referendum on the idea.
The NDP promised to complete a SkyTrain extension from Surrey all the way to Langley City Centre.
Education was also a key ballot box issue, with the region home to a number of overcrowded schools as the province’s largest school district.
The area’s electoral boundaries have changed several times in recent decades. In its current form, the NDP have won it just once prior, and the BC Liberals twice.
You can find a full list of ridings and results here, and full B.C. 2020 provincial election coverage here.
Nominated Candidates
- BC NDP: Jinny Sims
- BC Liberals: Gulzar Cheema
- B.C. Vision: Sophie Shrestha
Election Results 2017
- BC NDP: Jinny Sims, 12,227 votes (50.85%)
- BC Liberals: Puneet Sandhar, 10,064 (41.86%)
- BC Greens: Laurel Greer, 1,620 votes (6.74%)
- Refederation: Liz Galenzoski, 132 votes (0.55%)
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, an unprecedented number of mail-in ballots were requested across B.C. this election. As mail-in ballots cannot be counted until after election night, these results are not final.