This riding could be another close one, as the margin between Liberal and Conservative candidates was 0.7 percent in 2019.
In the last election we saw a few shifts but the same red result: the Green Party gained ground, the NDP lost support, and while the Conservative Party garnered slightly more voters than in 2015, it wasn’t quite enough to unseat Liberal MP Ron McKinnon.
With 34.7 percent of the vote, McKinnon edged Conservative challenger Nicholas Insley by 390 votes in 2019.
NDP candidate Christina Gower finished with 23 percent of the vote (a four percent drop from the NDP’s 2015 showing).
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The Green Party is not planning to run a candidate in 2021. The Green Party garnered 6.9 percent in the last federal election – a 3.2 percent bump from 2015.
The candidates
Incumbent Ron McKinnon, Liberal
In 2016, McKinnon sponsored Bill C-224, the Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act. The bill sought to ensure that someone who calls for police or an ambulance following an overdose won’t then be charged for possession or violation of their probation order.
At the time McKinnon explained that drug users as a community don’t feel safe going to law enforcement after an overdose. The bill eventually became law.
McKinnon also supported a $2-million program designed to keep British Columbians from becoming radicalized.
Katerina Anastasiadis, Conservative
A former campaign manager, Anastasiadis has worked with Peter MacKay, Erin O’Toole, and lent a hand on Nelly Shin’s successful campaign next door in Port Moody-Coquitlam.
The executive director of Abbotsford’s Chamber of Commerce, Anastasiadis noted support for small business and job growth as key issues while speaking to the Tri-City News.
She has also worked with Covenant House Vancouver.
Laura Dupont, NDP
A Port Coquitlam councillor, Dupont cited rent subsidies, paid sick leave and a boost to CERB as NDP achievements during the pandemic. She also emphasized National Pharmacare as a priority.
Port Coquitlam council censured Dupont due to improper disclosure around trees endangered by a pending development. Dupont shared confidential information with community members concerned about tree preservation.
Among council candidates, Dupont was Port Coquitlam’s top vote-getter in 2018, garnering 6,518 votes – 54.8 per cent of all ballots cast.
Kimberly Brufdell, People’s Party of Canada
As a single mother raising four children, Brundell was an active member of the Central Community School PAC, according to the PPC website.
Brundell accused Justin Trudeau of an “unacceptable attack on our freedom” on her Facebook page when the federal government moved to make vaccinations mandatory for airplane passengers.
Rather than right versus left, the election is “Liberty versus Authoritarian rule,” according to a Brundell’s social media account.
Brundell’s stated priorities include free speech and responsible government spending.
Quick facts (based on the 2016 census)
Population: 123,576
Growth: the riding grew by by more than 13,000 residents between 2011 and 2016, approximately 12 percent
Median age: 40.5
Average household size: 2.7
Median income: $57,451 (for full-time workers)
