Abbotsford-Mission byelection candidates debate transportation, agriculture and taxes

Election signs for NDP candidate Pam Elexis and Conservative Party candidate Kerry-Lynne Findlay for the upcoming Abbotsford-Mission byelection at the entrance to the city of Mission on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026. Photo by Jason Payne /PNG

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Transportation, taxes and farming were at the forefront of an all-candidates debate for the Abbotsford-Mission riding on Wednesday evening.

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The byelection is prompted by the resignation of former B.C. Conservative MLA Reann Gasper to give her party leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay a chance to win a seat in the legislature.

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In what was a civil debate, Findlay took aim at the B.C. NDP, and not at the party’s candidate and former riding MLA Pam Alexis.

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Findlay laid out her previous experiences as a lawyer, business owner and federal MP.

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“Today, British Columbians are paying more for government but too often getting less in return,” she said. “It’s time to grow our economy, focus on delivering basic government services like health and education and spend taxpayer money responsibly.”

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Alexis asked Findlay why nine Conservative MLAs had defected from the party since Findlay narrowly won her party’s leadership in May 2026. The party is now down to 28 MLAs from the 44 it won in the 2024 provincial election.

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Findlay responded that there was internal division in the party.

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“There were people within our caucus who simply did not accept the choice of the membership,” she said, adding that the remaining caucus had met on Wednesday before the debate.

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Event moderator and SFU political scientist Hamish Telford asked the candidates, which also included CentreBC’s Lakhwinder Jhaj and Green party of B.C.’s Stephen Fowler, what they thought of the NPD’s plan to apply provincial taxes to an array of professional and other services.

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Jhaj pointed out this would simply be passed on to consumers, while Fowler said that any new taxes should be applied to extraordinarily wealthy individuals and highly profitable corporations.

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Alexis stood by her party’s decision, while Findlay said that if she were in power she would repeal the tax and also lower corporate taxes.

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Abbotsford-Mission byelection (L-R): B.C. Conservative leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay. Photo: Nick Procaylo. Lakhwinder Jhaj, CentreBC candidate. Photo: Liberal Party of Canada. Pam Alexis, BC NDP candidate for Abbotsford-Mission.

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All candidates agreed that more was needed to be done to ease congestion along Highway 1, while Jhaj spoke passionately about a childhood experience watching hail destroy a crop at her family’s farm.

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She noted there are no longer strawberry canneries in the Fraser Valley, while Findlay pointed to the demise of B.C.’s timber industry as a massive problem.

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“There used to be cedar mills all over Mission,” Findlay said. “The NDP calls the forestry industry a sunset industry while they allow shipment of raw logs to be processed overseas and sent back to us.”

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In conclusion, Jhaj said the NDP were extremely left, and the Conservatives extremely right.

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“You deserve a government that listens, delivers and puts your priorities first. That’s what CentreBC is about. No more divisions. No more politics for the sake of politics. You’ve had two choices before, but on Sept. 26 you have a third. A voice that listens.”

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Fowler noted the Green party is a fourth choice.

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The Abbotsford-Mission byelection is being held on Sept. 26.

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Advance voting opens on Friday, Sept. 18 and runs until Sept. 23. The location of voting stations can be found at wheretovote.elections.bc.ca/abm.

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