B.C. Election Day: Langley voters to choose three MLAs

It's election day in B.C. and residents in Langley are heading to the polls to choose three MLAs to represent them for the next four years

Published Oct 19, 2024  •  Last updated 0 minutes ago  •  4 minute read

It's election day in B.C. and residents in Langley are heading to the polls to choose three MLAs to represent them for the next four years. Photo by Jenelle Schneider /Vancouver Sun

It’s election day in B.C. and residents in Langley are heading to the polls to choose three MLAs to represent them for the next four years.

For information on how to cast your vote in Langley, click here. And here is the list of candidates in each of the city’s new and redistributed ridings: Langley-Abbotsford, Langley-Walnut Grove and Langley-Willowbrook.

If you are still deciding who to vote for, check out our handy guide outlining 12 hot topics and where the three major parties stand on each one HERE. And you can read more about what’s at stake in this year’s election for Langley residents below.

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Follow our live blog HERE throughout the day and night for the latest election news from around B.C., and we’ll keep this post updated tonight with Langley election results and reactions. You can also learn more about how the votes will be counted HERE.

Langley has seen significant population growth in recent years, particularly with young families moving into the area from larger Lower Mainland cities. This has led to increased demand for housing, making affordability a central election issue.

Residents have historically favoured right or centre-right parties; however, this trend shifted in recent years, as evidenced by the last election, which saw the B.C. New Democratic Party sweep the region, overturning a previous B.C. Liberal majority.

But as the region densifies, so has its challenges related to traffic congestion, particularly on Highway 1 and major arterial roads, making public transit improvements — including the ongoing SkyTrain extension project — a priority for voters.

“Population growth in the area has also increased the demand for healthcare services, with only one hospital serving the community. The NDP has pledged to add a new tower, doubling the hospital’s long-term care beds if re-elected.

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Langley-Abbotsford

This new riding includes the more rural areas of Langley Township, such as Murrayville and Aldergrove, as well as the westernmost part of Abbotsford, totalling a population of 56,458.

A large portion of this riding consists of agriculturally protected land, indicating that voters may lean center-right, prioritizing agricultural sustainability and rural economic development.

Harman Bhangu, a candidate for the B.C. Conservative Party, is seeking election. He owns a small business in the heavy-load trucking sector and previously ran for the same party in the 2022 Surrey South byelection.

Harman is facing off against longtime politician John Aldag, who resigned after nine years as the Liberal MP for Cloverdale–Langley City to run as the B.C. NDP candidate in the provincial election.

Other candidates vying for the position include Karen Long, a longtime volunteer who previously campaigned for B.C. United but is now running as an independent; B.C. Green Party candidate Mellissa Snazell, a registered pharmacy technician; and Libertarian candidate Alex Joehl, a retail store manager.

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Another unaffiliated candidate on the ballot Shelly Jan, withdrew her application in the riding on October 2.

Langley-Willowbrook

This riding, which includes the City of Langley and the rapidly growing dense neighbourhoods to the city’s north such as Willowbrook, has a population of 57,709.

This urban region is expected to be Langley’s link to the broader Metro Vancouver transit network and cities if the SkyTrain expansion is completed on schedule in 2028.

NDP incumbent Andrew Mercier, a labour lawyer and former head of the B.C. Building Trades Council, won the Langley seat in the last election with just over 47 percent of the vote. Appointed this year as Minister of State for Sustainable Forestry Innovation, Mercier is fighting to hang onto the seat.

Mercier’s main opponent is B.C. Conservative candidate Jody Toor, who owns an integrative holistic clinic in Cloverdale.

Toor came under fire in the last week of the election campaign from B.C. NDP for “embellishing her credentials” as earlier versions of her campaign website identified her as a “doctor.”

Also in the race for the seat is B.C. Green Party candidate Petrina Arnason, who served back-to-back terms as an independent municipal councillor before failing to secure a third in the 2022 election, where she received only 28.9 per cent of the vote.

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Langley-Walnut Grove

This riding, which encompasses Walnut Grove, Fort Langley and Willoughby communities, has a population of 54,818.

NDP incumbent Megan Dykeman is competing to keep her seat. In the last election, Dykeman garnered 43 per cent of the vote, defeating B.C. Liberal candidate Margaret Kunst, a Township councillor who received 34 per cent.

However, B.C. Conservative candidate Misty van Popta, a project manager in the construction industry and a former municipal councillor, poses a challenge to Dykeman’s bid for re-election as MLA.

Also in the race is B.C. Greens candidate Rylee MacLean, a self-employed investment manager, along with independent candidate Carlos Suarez Rubio, who is making his second bid for public office after running for a position on Langley Township council in the 2022 election.

Read more of our B.C. election coverage in these municipalities:

• Vancouver
• Surrey
• Burnaby
• Richmond and Delta
• Langley
• North Vancouver and West Vancouver
• Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and New Westminster
• Maple Ridge and Port Moody
• Abbotsford and Chilliwack
• Okanagan and around B.C.
• Vancouver Island

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RACE FOR B.C.: Follow our coverage of the 2024 B.C. election campaign HERE. Not yet a subscriber? Please click HERE for a special subscription offer.

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