Know your riding: Burnaby South

The federal election is taking place on September 20 and Burnaby Beacon is providing a snapshot of the 3 ridings in the city. Here is a look at who is running in Burnaby South. 

The first election in Burnaby South, in 2015, was a close one. The NDP’s Kennedy Stewart beat out Adam Pankratz of the Liberals by just 547 votes—gaining 35.07% of the total vote.

Stewart resigned in 2018 to pursue a run for the Vancouver mayoral seat, leaving the seat empty until a February 2019 byelection where NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh beat out the Liberals Richard T Lee and Conservative Jay Shin, gaining 39% of the vote.

While Shin gained nearly 8% more of the vote in 2019, it wasn’t enough to oust Singh, who retained nearly 38%.

As party leader, Singh has promised a foreign buyer’s tax for Canada of 20%—to be applied on top of the 20% tax already in place in BC—along with $250 million in funding to address a nursing shortage across Canada. He has, in the past, stated his opposition to the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion project.

The Liberals are running Brea Hung Sami, who says she will support Burnaby businesses “to power a green recovery” and advocate for affordable childcare in the riding.

Businessman Likky Lavji is running as the Conservative candidate, pledging support for small businesses, while Maureen Curran is the Green candidate.

Burnaby South candidates

• Conservative: Likky Lavji

• Liberal: Brea Hung Sami

• NDP: Jagmeet Singh (incumbent)

• Green: Maureen Curran

• Independent: Martin Kendell