2005 Candidates (as received from Elections B.C.):
- Ravi Chand, DR BC
- Harjit Singh Daudharia, Communist Party of BC
- Sue Hammell, New Democratic Party of B.C.
- Brenda Locke, BC Liberal Party
- Sebastian Sajda, Green Party of BC
Districts Profile:
This central Surrey riding is bordered on the east by 152nd Street, on the south by 88th Avenue, on the west by 120th Street and on the north by 96th and 104th avenues. There's a mix of residential sub-developments, farmland and light industry here, with manufacturing and retail being the major employers. At $51,098, this riding has the province's fifth-lowest average family income, though the unemployment rate is a slightly-better-than-average 8.3 per cent. Eleven per cent of the population has less than a Grade 9 education – B.C.'s eight-highest such proportion. Immigrants account for 40 per cent of the population, while visible minorities include 48 per cent. Of those, 35.6 per cent are South Asian – the third highest such population in B.C.
Political History:
The incumbent in Surrey-Green Timbers is Liberal Brenda Locke, the minister of state for mental health and addiction services. In 2001 she unseated then-incumbent Sue Hammel of the NDP, collecting 2,000 more votes. Hammel had served since 1991, beating Liberal Archibald McMurchy in that year (by 2,384 votes) and going on to defeat Liberal Bill Phelps in 1996 (by 3,348 votes). Before that, the NDP and the Socreds fought for the district, which was part of the old Surrey riding. New Democrat Ernie Hall was the MLA from 1966-75, before being unseated by Socred (and eventual premier) Bill Vander Zalm. In 1979, however, this became a two-member riding, and both Hall and Vander Zalm were elected. Four years later the Socreds got both seats, with wins by (eventual premier) Rita Johnston and Bill Reid. In 1986 the Surrey riding was split up, with New Democrat Joan Smallwood winning in what became called Surrey-Guildford-Whalley and Johnston victorious in Surrey-Newton.
In 2001, the voter turnout in Surrey-Green Timbers was 66.8 per cent – the ninth lowest in the province.
Main > Districts 
