Meet the four candidates running in Surrey-Guildford in the B.C. election

Final voting day in the B.C. election is Oct. 24. The four candidates in Surrey-Guildford are incumbent BC NDP MLA Garry Begg, BC Conservatives candidate Garry Thind, BC Green Party candidate Jodi Murphy and unaffiliated candidate James Yaroshuk. They are among 47 candidates across Surrey’s 10 ridings. Surrey Now-Leader sent candidates the same questions, word counts and deadlines, and is publishing their responses as they arrive.

**James Yaroshuk, unaffiliated**

Yaroshuk describes himself as a lifelong Surrey resident, husband, father of three, tradesman and community volunteer who believes ordinary working people need a stronger voice in Victoria. His three priorities are making housing and everyday life more affordable, improving access to health care and reducing wait times, and restoring public safety while managing government spending responsibly.

For his first 100 days if elected, Yaroshuk says he would not pretend he could fix everything. He would establish an accessible constituency office and listen to Surrey-Guildford residents. In Victoria, he would focus on affordability. He says lowering taxes to leave people with more money, while controlling government spending, is part of making life more affordable. He would push for a serious review of government spending and bureaucracy to find waste and savings without cutting essential services British Columbians rely on.

He says he is not a career politician, but a tradesman, husband and father who understands the challenges working families face because he faces many of the same ones. He says he would bring a practical, common-sense approach to Victoria and put constituents’ interests ahead of political interests. Voters can call 778-900-8979 or email jamesyaroshukbc@gmail.com. He is also on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/JamesYaroshukBC, Instagram at @jamesyaroshukbc (https://www.instagram.com/jamesyaroshukbc/) and X at https://x.com/JamesYaroshukBC.

**Jodi Murphy, BC Green Party**

Murphy describes herself as a Surrey-Guildford resident with experience in operations management and bookkeeping, and as a small-business owner who believes in the BC Greens’ plan for a better B.C. Her priorities are improving nurse-to-patient ratios and ending reliance on for-profit staffing; protecting food security by restricting foreign and corporate ownership of farmland; and reforming forest tenures to reduce reliance on a small number of large companies.

Murphy says her first-100-day plans include setting up a transparent calendar so constituents can see what she is doing, working on and which groups she is meeting; introducing legislation to protect everyday affordability by banning retailers from using surveillance pricing, as introduced in Manitoba; connecting with Surrey MLAs across party lines to find ways to improve education and health care in a growing population and economic centre; and meeting with WorkSafeBC leadership to support improvements it recommends.

She says she is known for finishing what she starts and getting things done, and describes herself as strategic, pragmatic and an experienced manager and leader who has run three times in the community. She criticizes one candidate for failing to complete a mandate and wasting public money on another early election, and says another is running for two offices at once. Murphy says her focus is on delivering. Voters can visit https://bcgreens.ca/candidates-2026/jodi-murphy/, Facebook at www.facebook.com/JodiMurphy4BCGreens (https://www.facebook.com/JodiMurphy4BCGreens), or Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/jodim4bcgreens/, or email TeamMurphy@bcgreens.ca.

**Garry Thind, Conservative Party of BC**

Thind says he has lived and worked in Surrey for more than 27 years. He is currently vice-chair of the Surrey School Board and says he has been elected since 2014. His priorities are a real path to home ownership, family doctors for every British Columbian, and safer streets by protecting neighbours and ending “catch and release.”

Thind says his first steps if elected would be to protect and fund health care for everyone, develop a better plan to find family and emergency-room doctors, stop closures, and protect families who need a doctor. He says British Columbians and Surrey residents want change, and accuses Eby and the NDP of failing many people, raising taxes, offering no relief from what he calls punishing government overreach, and having no real plan to protect people from rising living costs. He calls the election unnecessary and expensive, saying the government already had a majority and should have returned to work. He urges voters to send a message on Oct. 24 and vote for him and the BC Conservatives. Voters can email garry.thind@conservativebc.ca, visit conservativebc.ca/candidate/garry-thind (source link: https://surreynowleader.com/2026/10/15/b-c-votes-meet-the-4-candidates-for-surrey-guildford/conservativebc.ca/candidate/garry-thind), or call (604) 225-1639.

**Garry Begg, BC NDP**

Begg is the Surrey-Guildford MLA, a former RCMP officer of 38 years and Parliamentary Secretary for Surrey Infrastructure. His priorities are lowering local families’ grocery and fuel costs, maintaining the ICBC rate freeze through 2030, and expanding access to doctors and timely local care.

Begg says he would work to lower costs and improve access to care. The BC NDP plan would suspend 10 cents per litre of fuel tax, curb excessive gas-pump price gouging and cap grocery profits on essentials. He says grocery savings could reach $700 a year and savings at the pump would be 30 cents per litre. He would also support keeping ICBC rates frozen through 2030, building 20 team-based primary-care clinics, including three more in Surrey, adding 1,000 health-worker training seats and creating faster pathways for qualified internationally trained doctors. In Surrey, he would support his party’s plan for timely diagnosis and emergency care at Surrey Memorial.

Begg says he spent 38 years in public safety, including eight in Surrey, and has represented Surrey-Guildford since 2017. He says the growing community needs lower costs, timely health care and safe neighbourhoods, and that he would use his experience to protect essential services from Conservative cuts.