The Conservative Party of B.C. will field a candidate for the first time in Langford-Juan de Fuca in the June 24 byelection in the riding, which was created in 2015.
Longtime real-estate agent Mike Harris will run in the riding previously held by New Democrat John Horgan, who stepped down as premier last November and as MLA in March.
Harris said he is running “to give people an option, to offer people a different voice."
Harris began his real estate career in Vernon and the Lower Mainland before moving to Langford with his wife and two children. He and his wife ran a small business for eight years before shutting it down during the pandemic.
For the past two years, Harris has been the Conservative party’s regional director for Vancouver Island South.
Harris will run against BC Green Camille Currie, the founder of BC Health Care Matters; BC United’s Elena Lawson, a parent advocating for children with autism; and New Democrat Ravi Parmar, board chair of the Sooke School District. The deadline for nominations is 1 p.m. on June 3.
The last time a Conservative candidate ran for election in the area was 2001, when the riding was called Malahat-Juan de Fuca. Susan Power attracted 1.41 per cent of the general vote.
Horgan was first elected as MLA in 2005 in Malahat-Juan de Fuca. The current Langford-Juan de Fuca riding was created after an electoral redistribution in 2015.
