By Canadian Press

Close race in 2019 vote faces rematch of candidates in B.C.’s Port Moody-Coquitlam

Sep 2, 2021 | 2:05 AM

Two candidates who met in a political duel decided by a slim margin of 153 votes in 2019 are facing each other again on Sept. 20 in British Columbia’s Port Moody-Coquitlam riding.

The rematch is between incumbent Conservative Nelly Shin, a professional musician who has released gospel and classical piano recordings, and New Democrat Bonita Zarrillo, a three-term member of Coquitlam council who is known as an affordable housing and green jobs advocate. 

The Liberals are also considered contenders in the riding and are running Will Davis, a small-business owner who has previously worked as a standup comedian, as their candidate.

The Port Moody-Coquitlam constituency is considered a potential swing riding and is regarded by the political parties as one of about 10 seats in the suburban Vancouver area where gains are made or lost, experts say.

B.C. has 42 seats, but the key targets of the Liberals, Conservatives and New Democrats are in the suburban Vancouver area, which includes Coquitlam and Port Moody, said Stewart Prest, a Canadian politics instructor at Coquitlam’s Douglas College.

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“It’s emblematic of the kind of riding where we’re going to see voters up for grabs, and seats up for grabs,” he said about Port Moody-Coquitlam. “The fact that this is a three-way contest … that means that a small nudge in one direction or another can really lead to some unpredictable results.”

The New Democrats held Port Moody-Coquitlam for a decade before the 2019 election, but former MP Fin Donnelly chose to leave federal politics and was elected in Coquitlam in the fall of 2020 as an NDP member of the B.C. legislature.

Also running in the riding is construction project manager Desta McPherson, representing the People’s Party of Canada. The Greens have yet to nominate a candidate.

Shin, the first Korean Canadian elected to the House of Commons, will face a tough challenge again in 2021 as the riding’s dynamics continue to shift toward younger, urban voters who are moving into older, traditional neighbourhoods in search of affordable housing, said Prest.

Port Moody-Coquitlam is reflective of a riding experiencing a growing influx of urban voters, he said.

“These are areas where you can have a mix of voters from the more urban settings where we tend to see perhaps a younger cohort,” said Prest. “These are voters with a more progressive outlook, but we also see the presence of small-town values, and those voters would tend to lean Conservative.”

The presence of young and older voters and the multicultural makeup of the riding adds to the area’s political flavour and can create the potential for change, said Leslie Courchesne, chief executive officer of the Tri-Cities Chamber of Commerce.

“We are a very fast-growing and diverse riding, economically and socially,” she said. “So, it is not surprising we have diverse views. There is also a significant portion of swing voters, which makes our election outcomes not easy to predict.”

Affordable housing is a key issue throughout the riding and building a strong economy despite the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is also a priority, Courchesne said.

“For business, a recovery and reopening plan for the economy is key and investments in job creation, especially for the hospitality industry, which is facing a shortage of labour,” she said.

The pandemic has hit the area hard, said Courchesne.

“Our chamber has been working hard to advocate for and support our local businesses to stay open and succeed, but some have had to close or are very close to doing so,” she said. “Our chamber has lost close to 150 memberships since December 2019. We have never experienced a sharp decline like this before.”

Prest said the economy and climate change are major issues in the riding, but housing is the top concern in Port Moody-Coquitlam and in much of the Metro Vancouver area.

“It’s a major issue throughout that riding and through the Lower Mainland,” he said. “Anywhere where housing prices have continued to skyrocket.”

Mike McDonald, a Vancouver political strategist and consultant, said the Conservatives, NDP and Liberals have likely circled Port Moody-Coquitlam on their target list for this election.

The riding represents one of several seats along the Fraser River where three-way races are likely and change is possible, said McDonald, a former chief of staff to former B.C. premier Christy Clark who ran previous provincial election campaigns.

“This is why we have campaigns,” he said. “The NDP, they want Fin Donnelly’s seat in Port Moody-Coquitlam. A little bit here and a little bit there and those seats could go to any combination of results.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 2, 2021.

Dirk Meissner, The Canadian Press