Meet the candidates in . . . Coquitlam-Port Coquitlam

Voters in Coquitlam-Port Coquitlam have their pick of five candidates across the political spectrum.

If you’re not registered to vote you can visit the elections office at 1163 Pinetree Way or at 15 King Edward Street by April 22. You can also register online.

The election is scheduled for April 28.

For information about the riding, click here.

Iain Black, Conservative Party

Black’s stated priorities include lowering taxes and restoring affordability.

Speaking to the Globe and Mail after announcing his candidacy in 2024, Black noted his experience in government as well as private-sector leadership.

In a campaign video, Black criticized the Liberal government for: “leaving us now exposed and not at all prepared to fend off Donald Trump.”

A twice-elected MLA in Port Moody-Westwood, Black served as labour minister under Premier Gordon Campbell.

He stepped away from politics in 2011 to take a role as chief executive officer of the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade.

In 2018, Black urged B.C.’s government to stop delaying the construction of Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline.

“Aside from the future of this specific project – which would bring benefits to our province and country – there is also the much larger issue of investor confidence in Canada,” Black stated in a Business in Vancouver opinion piece.

More recently, Black has been president and CEO of Maximizer Software Inc.

Ron McKinnon, Liberal Party

Some of McKinnon’s stated priorities including building more homes and strengthening public health care.

A longtime incumbent, McKinnon spearheaded the Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act. The bill is meant to save lives by giving legal protections to people who call first responders following an overdose. Those protections can mean the caller wouldn’t face charges for possession of a controlled substance.

McKinnon was also a supporter of the court challenges program, which is meant to offer financial backing for Canadians who need to go to court for an issue relating to human rights, language rights or equality.

McKinnon pushed for the program to be enshrined in law.

In addressing the housing crisis, McKinnon previously touted a tax-free savings account for first-time homebuyers.

He also supported $10-a-day childcare as both an economic plan and a transformative idea for families, “and for women in particular. It will allow them to advance their skills, to go back in the workforce and this will supercharge our economy.”

Laura Dupont, NDP

The NDP’s stated priorities include building rent-controlled housing on federal land and ensuring more Canadians have access to a family doctor.

A former Port Coquitlam city councillor, Laura Dupont ran for office in 2021, criticizing successive Conservative and Liberal governments for failing to address the high cost of living.

“Regular people have been carrying the load financially [of our taxes] for too long,” she said at the time.

Dupont previously contended the government should “get the big money out of the housing market.”

The NDP is currently proposing a ban on reno- and demovictions, as well as the implementation of national rent control.

Port Coquitlam council once censured Dupont after she shared information about the potential impact of a development with community members who were also concerned with tree preservation.

An environmentalist, Dupont has previously underscored the need to prepare for the effects of climate change, noting the risk of flooding in Port Coquitlam.

“People living in high flood risk areas, where insurance coverage is not available, could cost all levels of government well into the billions of dollars,” Dupont wrote in 2022.

Michael Glenister, Green Party

The Green Party’s stated priorities include a more environmentally-friendly economy bolstered by a national electrical power gride and a Canada-wide retrofit program designed to make buildings and homes more energy efficient.

A high school science and math teacher, Glenister has stated that he’ll push for a national referendum on proportional representation and the development of renewable energy projects.

Discussing his reason for becoming a candidate, Glenister noted there were only three major party candidates in the riding in 2021.

“I was frustrated that voters in my riding didn’t have more choices. I try to resist the ‘Someone Else’s Problem’ effect,” he wrote. “So, I thought—why don’t I run? Plus, unlike me, most politicians have a terrible background in science, yet they’re the ones deciding who gets research funding.”

The Green Party’s plan on housing includes stopping corporations from buying single-family houses and targeting criminals who use real estate for money laundering.

Lewis Dahlby, Libertarian Party

The key priorities of the Libertarian Party are to reduce government expenses as well as government priorities.

The party views property rights as an essential human right and contends that governments should be restricted to settling legal disputes as well as providing protection from criminal and foreign invaders.

Dahlby, who runs a trucking and excavating business, has frequently run as a Libertarian candidate, including in the most recent provincial election.

The party supports the sale of the CBC and National Film Board to private enterprises, as well as the repeal of all prohibitions around the sale and possession of all drugs.

The party is also in support of repealing any rules that keep government information from Canadians.