Candidates are still being finalized in Surrey ridings ahead of B.C.’s Oct. 24 election

Candidates in Surrey’s provincial ridings are still filing ahead of the nomination deadline. The final list will be known after nominations close on Saturday, Oct. 3, at 1 p.m. Final voting day in the snap election called by Premier David Eby is Oct. 24. Voters across B.C. will elect 93 MLAs, including 10 in Surrey-area electoral districts. Here is the current picture in each riding, with notes from the previous election.

**Surrey City Centre:** The race is shaping up as a rematch of 2024. NDP incumbent Amna Shah will face B.C. Conservative challenger Zeeshan Wahla, an engineer and business owner. Shah won narrowly after Elections BC ordered a recount. She has served as parliamentary secretary for anti-racism initiatives and parliamentary secretary for mental health and addictions. Surrey entrepreneur Raman Sharma is also running for CentreBC.

**Surrey-Cloverdale:** Incumbent MLA Elenore Sturko was named CentreBC leader on Sept. 22 and is now running in Surrey South. Two years ago, she narrowly defeated Mike Starchuk, then the incumbent for the B.C. NDP. Starchuk is now running for mayor of Surrey with the Imagine Surrey slate. The B.C. Conservative candidate this time is Nicholas Cartmell; Stephen Dooley is running for the NDP.

**Surrey-Fleetwood:** Political veteran Jagrup Brar is seeking re-election. He won the riding for the NDP in 2024, defeating Conservative challenger Avtar Gill. Brar has since served as Minister of Mining and Critical Minerals. CentreBC’s candidate is Paul Brar, a realtor since 1988 who has lived in Surrey for more than 30 years. OneBC has announced Carolyn Hofbauer as its candidate, and the Conservative candidate is Garry Purewal.

**Surrey-Guildford:** NDP MLA Garry Begg won re-election in 2024 by a razor-thin margin of 22 votes, topping Conservative challenger Honveer Singh Randhawa. Randhawa, a lawyer, is now running for mayor of Surrey. Begg is seeking re-election against Gurpreet Garry Thind, vice-chair of the Surrey Board of Education, who recently announced he is running for re-election to the school board. CentreBC has yet to name a candidate.

**Surrey-Newton:** First-time candidate Jessie Sunner won for the NDP in 2024 and is seeking re-election. She has served as Minister of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills. Sunner, a trade unionist and human rights lawyer with the Hospital Employees’ Union, won with 7,924 votes, 1,266 more than Conservative candidate Tegjot Bal. The Conservatives have named Harj Dhaliwal as their candidate; CentreBC has not yet named one.

**Surrey North:** Political newcomer Mandeep Dhaliwal won for the Conservatives two years ago with 50.67 per cent of the 15,697 votes cast, topping NDP MLA Rachna Singh, who had served two terms. Singh said on Sept. 23 that she is considering another run in Surrey North, but NDP officials had not approached her about running. Dhaliwal is back in the race for the B.C. Conservatives, against NDP candidate Sahib Thind. OneBC has named Tanya Gupta, a business owner and notary public.

**Surrey-Panorama:** First-term Conservative MLA Bryan Tepper, elected in 2024, confirmed on Sept. 23 that he would run again for the Conservatives. The NDP has named Jinny Sims as its candidate; she held the riding until two years ago.

**Surrey-Serpentine River:** Former Surrey mayor Linda Hepner won the riding for the B.C. Conservatives in 2024, defeating NDP candidate Baltej Singh Dhillon, but has decided not to run in 2026. “At this stage in life, I just can’t make the commitment of another four years,” she announced on Sept. 22. Jessy Sahota will carry the Conservative banner this time. Physiotherapist Sikander Kang will run for the BC NDP, while CentreBC has yet to name a candidate.

**Surrey South:** MLA Brent Chapman, elected in 2024, has left the Conservatives to join OneBC for the coming election, after his wife, Kerry-Lynne Findlay, was ousted as leader of the Conservative Party of B.C. Chapman won with 13,056 votes two years ago, nearly 4,000 more than his only challenger, NDP candidate Haroon Ghaffar. Chapman will run again for OneBC against Elenore Sturko, named CentreBC leader on Sept. 22, and White Rock Mayor Megan Knight, running for the B.C. Conservatives. The NDP candidate is Parik Tahlan.

**Surrey-White Rock:** Trevor Halford was first elected in 2020 and won again in 2024 over NDP challenger Darryl Walker, a former White Rock mayor. Halford has confirmed he will run again for the B.C. Conservatives, and Walker returns as the NDP candidate. Christine Kinnie has filed with Elections BC as the BC Green Party candidate, while former journalist Kevin Diakiw is running as an independent.