2017 South Surrey—White Rock federal by-election
A by-election was held in the federal riding of South Surrey—White Rock in British Columbia on December 11, 2017 following the resignation of Conservative MP Dianne Watts. The seat was gained for the Liberals by Gordie Hogg.[1]
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Seat of South Surrey—White Rock | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Turnout | 38.13% ( 36.60pp) | ||||||||||||||||||
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The by-election result was rare as it saw a seat gain for a governing party.
The by election was held on the same day as 3 others across Canada; Battlefords—Lloydminster in Alberta, Bonavista—Burin—Trinity in Newfoundland and Labrador and Scarborough—Agincourt in Ontario.
Background
Constituency
The riding is anchored by the cities of Surrey and White Rock.
Representation
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The riding of South Surrey—White Rock was newly created for the 2015 election. A notionally safe seat for the Conservatives, the result was tighter than expected. Conservative candidate Dianne Watts won over the Liberal candidate with a majority of under 2000 votes. The seat was vacated on September 30, 2017, after Watts announced on September 24, 2017, that she would be resigning her seat to enter provincial politics and seek the leadership of the British Columbia Liberal Party.[2]
Campaign
Former federal cabinet minister and Delta—Richmond East MP Kerry-Lynne Findlay[3] defeated[4] Fraser Institute policy analyst and former BC Liberal staffer David Hunt[5] and police officer Bryan Tepper for the Conservative Party nomination.
Former White Rock Mayor and Surrey-White Rock MLA Gordie Hogg was acclaimed[6] as the Liberal Party candidate. A rumoured candidate for the nomination was Judith Higginbotham, a former Surrey city councillor and the riding's Liberal candidate in the 2015 federal election.[7]
Mortgage broker Jonathan Silveira was acclaimed the NDP candidate on November 19.[8]
The Speaker's warrant regarding the vacancy was received on October 3, 2017; under the Parliament of Canada Act the writ for a by-election had to be dropped no later than April 1, 2018, 180 days after the Chief Electoral Officer was officially notified of the vacancy via a warrant issued by the Speaker.[9]
Results
| Canadian federal by-election, December 11, 2017: South Surrey—White Rock Resignation of Dianne Watts | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||||
| Liberal | Gordie Hogg | 14,369 | 47.49 | +6.00 | ||||
| Conservative | Kerry-Lynne Findlay | 12,752 | 42.14 | −1.89 | ||||
| New Democratic | Jonathan Silveira | 1,478 | 4.88 | −5.53 | ||||
| Green | Larry Colero | 1,247 | 4.12 | +0.70 | ||||
| Christian Heritage | Rod Taylor | 238 | 0.79 | |||||
| Libertarian | Donald Wilson | 89 | 0.29 | −0.17 | ||||
| Progressive Canadian | Michael Huenefeld | 86 | 0.28 | +0.09 | ||||
| Total valid votes/Expense limit | 30,259 | 100.00 | ||||||
| Total rejected ballots | ||||||||
| Turnout | 30,259 | 38.13 | −36.60 | |||||
| Eligible voters | 79,359 | |||||||
| Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | +1.40 | ||||||
2015 results
| 2015 Canadian federal election: South Surrey—White Rock | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Conservative | Dianne Watts | 24,934 | 44.03 | -8.85 | $161,579.40 | |||
| Liberal | Judith Higginbotham | 23,495 | 41.49 | +22.40 | $40,658.82 | |||
| New Democratic | Pixie Hobby | 5,895 | 10.41 | -8.78 | $38,925.44 | |||
| Green | Larry Colero | 1,938 | 3.42 | -2.44 | $12.62 | |||
| Libertarian | Bonnie Hu | 261 | 0.46 | – | – | |||
| Progressive Canadian | Brian Marlatt | 108 | 0.19 | – | $400.00 | |||
| Total valid votes/Expense limit | 56,631 | 100.00 | $208,357.11 | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | 219 | 0.39 | – | |||||
| Turnout | 56,850 | 74.73 | – | |||||
| Eligible voters | 76,078 | |||||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | -15.63 | ||||||
| Source: Elections Canada[10][11] | ||||||||
References
- "Gordie Hogg takes hotly contested South Surrey-White Rock byelection". Global News. Retrieved January 1, 2021.
- "Conservative MP Dianne Watts announces bid for B.C. Liberal leadership". CTV News Vancouver. The Canadian Press. September 24, 2017. Retrieved September 24, 2017.
- Browne, Alex (October 31, 2017). "Federal parties coy on South Surrey-White Rock candidates". Peace Arch News. Black Press. Retrieved November 1, 2017.
- Holmes, Tracy (November 13, 2017). "Conservatives choose Findlay for South Surrey-White Rock run". Peace Arch News. Retrieved November 13, 2017.
- "Home-David Hunt". Retrieved November 6, 2017.
- Bailey, Ian (November 8, 2017). "Federal parties set sights on B.C.'s December by-election". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved November 13, 2017.
- Browne, Alex (September 27, 2017). "Watts' provincial bid to trigger federal byelection". Peace Arch News. Retrieved September 28, 2017.
- "South Surrey—White Rock NDP source". Ndp.ca. Retrieved May 13, 2018.
- "Vacant Seats in the House of Commons Since the 2015 General Election". Elections Canada. Retrieved April 4, 2017.
- Canada, Elections. "Voter Information Service - Find your electoral district". www.elections.ca. Retrieved June 11, 2019.
- Canada, Elections. "Error page". www.elections.ca. Retrieved June 11, 2019.