2005 Candidates (as received from Elections B.C.):
- Mohamud Ali Farah, Independent
- Linda Reid, BC Liberal Party
- Gian Sihota, New Democratic Party of B.C.
- Michael Anthony Wolfe, Green Party of BC
Districts Profile:
This Lower Mainland riding takes in the city of Richmond east of Gilbert, No. 3 and Garden City roads. The north and south arms of the Fraser are the riding's upper and lower boundaries. Industrial parks abound in northern section of the riding; retail and manufacturing are the main employers. The average family income of $60,451 is slightly below the B.C. norm, though the 7.2 per cent unemployment rate is low as well. This extremely diverse riding has the province's sixth-highest immigrant and sixth-highest visible minority percentages, at 53.6 and 60 per cent respectively. The riding also has B.C.'s eighth largest proportions of both ethnic Chinese and South Asians, at 44.6 and 15.1 per cent. Another 5 per cent of the people here are Filipino.
Political History:
The incumbent in Richmond East is Liberal Linda Reid, the minister of state for early childhood development. Reid has been in office since 1991, when she beat Ron Fontaine of the New Democrats by 774 votes. Her margins of victory have grown dramatically since then: In 1996 she repelled the NDP's Balwant Sanghera by nearly 4,500 votes, while in 2001 her margin of victory over runner-up Willy Nasgowitz of the NDP was approximately five to one. Prior to the 1989 redistribution this area was in the old Richmond riding, which was largely a Socred stronghold. That party's Jim Nielsen was MLA here from 1975-86, at which time the riding became a two-member district, ushering in Socreds Nick Loenen and Bill Vander Zalm (previously a Surrey MLA). Vander Zalm served as premier from 1986-91.
In 2001, the voter turnout in Richmond East was 70.6 per cent – just above the provincial average.
Main > Districts 
