Vancouver-Kensington MLA Mable Elmore fought a well-organized battle in the federal NDP nomination for candidate in Vancouver East in the 2015 national election. However, the second term NDP MLA lost in the tight race to Vancouver-Mount Pleasant Jenny Kwan.
NDP members elected Kwan as their candidate in Vancouver East for the upcoming federal election. Kwan has been the NDP MLA for Vancouver-Mount Pleasant since 1996. The other candidates in the nomination race were Scott McLean and Gwen Giesbrecht. Kwan will look to replace outgoing NDP MP Libby Davies, who has held the riding since 1997.
Vancouver East has elected NDP or CCF candidates in all but two elections since it was created in 1933. Davies defeated her nearest challenger, Conservative nominee Irene Yacto, by over 19,000 votes in 2011. The total number of votes cast was 1,416, but NDP organizers did not release Kwan’s margin of victory.
However, there are talks that Elmore lost to Kwan by a margin ranging from 28 votes to 42 votes. Kwan had said she would step down as Vancouver-Mount Pleasant MLA if she was chosen as the nominee. This means a byelection in the provincial riding within the next year.
Kwan said she’ll talk to provincial NDP leader John Horgan to discuss a “transition period” allowing her to exit the B.C. legislature and focus on the federal election, which is scheduled for October 19.
Elmore was elected MLA for Vancouver-Kensington on May 12, 2009. She is currently critic for ICBC and deputy critic for Finance. Previously, she served as critic for Multiculturalism and deputy critic for Children and Family Development and Child Care. Mable is a second generation Filipino-Canadian who has also been active in the peace movement and on immigrant, social justice, women’s and gay, lesbian and transgendered issues.
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