The nominations are in, and four candidates will be vying for North Delta residents' votes on Oct. 19.
Candidate nominations with Elections BC closed at 1 p.m. on Saturday (Sept. 28), and a trio of candidates are challenging BC NDP incumbent Ravi Kahlon with for his seat in the Legislative Assembly. Kahlon has been Delta North's MLA since 2017, and most recently served as housing minister under Premier David Eby.
Looking to upset Kahlon's bid for a third term in office are Raj Veauli with the Conservative Party of BC, Nick Dickinson-Wilde with the BC Green Party, and Manqoosh Khan with the Freedom Party of BC.
Since it was created in 1991, Delta North has been something of a swing riding, oscillating between the BC NDP and BC Liberal Party. Of the eight elections held since the riding was created, the NDP has won five (1991, 2005, 2009, 2017 and 2020), while the Liberals have won three (1996, 2001 and 2013). No candidate or party has held the riding for more than two consecutive terms.
Kahlon was first elected in 2017 over one-term BC Liberal MLA Scott Hamilton, winning a little over 2,100 more votes than his opponent. In 2020, he defeated BC Liberal challenger Jet Sunner by an even wider margin, with more than 5,000 votes separating them.
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With many polls either giving the Conservatives a slight lead over the NDP or finding the two parties locked in a statistical tie, Kahlon may have a harder time securing a historic third term than he had winning his previous two races.
One one hand, Kahlon is well-known and liked by many in the community, and he is the sole major party candidate who actually lives in the riding (Freedom Party's Khan also lives in Delta North). That alone may sway some of the more centrist and moderate right-leaning voters, ones who would have cast their ballot for BC United rather than for the Conservatives had that option not been taken away when BCU leader Kevin Falcon announced he was suspending the party's election campaign.
Former BC United candidate Amrit Pal Singh Dhot, who withdrew from the race 12 days later on Sept. 9, has thrown his support behind Kahlon (but not the BC NDP), saying he "has respect for Kahlon solely because he is the only candidate running to represent the riding [in] which he is a resident," and that the issues Delta North faces require representatives who have firsthand experience with local challenges. In a statement issued at the time, Dhot denounced so-called "parachute politicians," saying he believes they "lack a genuine commitment to serving the community."
On the other hand, many are frustrated with plans to densify the city and the recent changes to Delta's Official Community Plan and zoning bylaws spurred by new provincial legislation introduced by Kahlon and an order from his ministry mandating Delta add 3,607 net new housing units over the next five years. Those opposed to the changes, and to large developments eyed for properties along Scott Road and elsewhere in the city, continue to hold sporadic protests and are very active in local social media groups. Whether they represent enough votes to turn the election against the NDP remains to be seen.
It also remains to be seen how many voters will show up to the polls.
Voter registration in the riding has mostly climbed over the past two decades, but the number who actually cast a ballot in each election has remained more or less stable — ranging from a low of 19,771 in 2001 to a high of 23,604 in 2017. In fact, the number of voters who cast a ballot in 1991 is only 300 fewer than in 2020, despite the fact that 11,260 more voters were registered in the riding last election.
That stagnation has resulted in decreasing voter turnout relative to the number of people registered, from a high of 78.6 per cent in 1991 to a low of 56.55 per cent in 2020. (There was a very slight uptick from 2009 to 2013, followed by a five per cent jump in 2017, before dropping off again last election.)
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Delta North's southern boundary has been adjusted ahead of next month's election to more evenly distribute population between the two Delta ridings.
The area south of 64th Avenue/Kittson Parkway has been added to Delta South, a move B.C.'s Electoral Boundaries Commission said in its report would also create room for anticipated population growth in North Delta while keeping the area around Watershed Park in one electoral district.
“We acknowledge that our proposed boundary divides the suburb of Sunshine Hills; however, we do not believe that this adversely affects effective representation,” the commission's report states. “The principle of representation by population favours this change because it reduces the population difference between Delta North and Delta South.”
Under the Electoral Boundaries Commission Act, ridings should have populations within 25 per cent of the “electoral quotient,” an average calculated by dividing the province’s population by the number of electoral districts.
Using the latest census data, the current electoral quotient is 53,773, meaning all of the province's 93 ridings should have populations between 40,330 and 67,216 residents.
Before the boundary change, Delta North had a population of 60,774 and an area of 32 square kilometres, while Delta South had a population of 49,947 and an area of 464 square kilometres (including an off-shore portion where the boundary stretches to meet ridings on Vancouver Island).
With the adjustment, Delta North’s population has been decreased to 58,813 (a 9.4 per cent deviation from the electoral quotient) within an area of 28 square kilometres.
Delta South’s population, meanwhile, has increased to 51,908 (3.5 per cent below the electoral quotient) while its area, despite the addition of land south of 64th Avenue/Kittson Parkway, has decreased to 455 square kilometres. This is due to changes in the shape of the northern boundary as it extends into the Straight of Georgia.
Final voting day in the 2024 provincial election is Saturday, Oct. 19, but registered voters can cast a ballot early by mail or during six days of advance voting next month.
To be eligible to vote, you must be a Canadian citizen, 18 or older as of Oct. 19, 2024, and a resident of B.C. since April 18, 2024. Registration information and more is at elections.bc.ca/2024-provincial-election.
Vote-by-mail packages are available now and can be requested by phone (1-800-661-8683) or online (elections.bc.ca/2024-provincial-election/ways-to-vote/vote-by-mail) until 8 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 13, or in-person at a district electoral office until 4 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 19.
Mail-in ballots can be sent in by mail using the provided postage-paid envelope (note that Elections BC must receive your mail-in ballot no later than 8 p.m. on Oct. 19 for your vote to count) or dropped off at the district electoral office (300 - 11950 80th Ave.), at any voting place during advance or final voting, or at participating Service BC locations before Oct. 18.
Advance voting will be available from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Oct. 12-13 at the following locations:
- Brooke Elementary School, 8718 Delwood Dr.
- Chalmers Elementary School, 11315 75th Ave.
- Gibson Elementary School, 11451 90th Ave.
- North Delta Recreation Centre, 11415 84th Ave.
- Seaquam Secondary School, 11584 Lyon Rd.
- Delta North District Electoral Office, 300 - 11950 80th Ave.
In addition to those dates, the North Delta Recreation Centre and Delta North District Electoral Office will also host advance voting from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Oct. 10-11, and again Oct. 15-16.
On Oct. 19, voting will take place from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the following locations:
- Brooke Elementary School, 8718 Delwood Dr.
- Chalmers Elementary School, 11315 75th Ave.
- Devon Gardens Elementary School, 8884 Russell Dr.
- Gibson Elementary School, 11451 90th Ave.
- Heath Elementary School, 11364 72nd Ave.
- Hellings Elementary School, 11655 86th Ave.
- Jarvis Traditional Elementary School, 7670 118th St.
- North Delta Secondary School, 11447 82nd Ave.
- Sands Secondary School, 10840 82nd Ave.
- Seaquam Secondary School, 11584 Lyon Rd.
- Sunshine Hills Elementary School, 11285 Bond Blvd.
- Delta North District Electoral Office, 300 - 11950 80th Ave.
