Abbotsford voters are the only ones in the province currently going through two elections.
Local electors join the rest of the nation in voting for new Members of Parliament in the federal election on Monday, Sept. 20, but they are also being asked to vote for a new councillor in the municipal byelection on Saturday, Sept. 25.
The byelection is being held to replace former councillor Bruce Banman, who was elected as the MLA for Abbotsford South in the last provincial election in October 2020.
RELATED: Abbotsford byelection to replace MLA Bruce Banman set for Sept. 25
City spokesperson Aletta Vanderheyden said the city has been fielding many questions about the two elections.
“We’ve been getting a number of calls from individuals who are a bit confused about the different elections in Abbotsford and not realizing there are two opportunities to vote for government leaders,” she said.
Here’s how the two elections break down:
FEDERAL
Advance voting for the federal election runs from Friday, Sept. 10 to Monday, Sept. 13 from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Electors must vote only at their assigned polling place. The address can be found on the back of their voter information card, by visiting elections.ca or by calling 1-800-463-6868.
They can also vote at the Elections Canada office at 33780 South Fraser Way.
For more about advance voting, including how to vote by mail, visit the Elections Canada website or click here.
For information about voting on election day, click here.
Abbotsford breaks down into three ridings: Abbotsford, Mission-Matsqui-Fraser Canyon (MMFC) and Langley-Aldergrove.
Candidates running in the Abbotsford riding are incumbent Ed Fast (Conservative), Stephen Fowler (Green), Navreen Gill (Liberal), Kevin Sinclair (People’s Party) and Dharmasena Yakandawela (NDP).
MMFC candidates are Nicole Bellay (Green), Geet Grewal (Liberal), Tyler Niles (PPC), Lynn Perrin (NDP) and incumbent Brad Vis (Conservative).
Langley-Aldergrove candidates are Rayna Boychuk (PPC), Michael Chang (NDP), Kaija Farstad (Green), Kim Richter (Liberal) and incumbent Tako van Popta (Conversative). Visit langleyadvancetimes.com for more information about this riding.
Questionnaire responses from the MMFC candidates were published in The Abbotsford News on Sept. 2. Those from the Abbotsford candidates were published on Sept. 9.
A virtual all-candidates meeting takes place Sept. 15 for the Abbotsford candidates and Sept. 16 for the MMFC candidates through the Abbotsford Chamber of Commerce website at abbotsfordchamber.com. Both meetings start at 6:30 p.m.
RELATED: Two federal all-candidates meetings for Abbotsford are now virtual
MUNICIPAL
Advance voting in the byelection takes place Wednesday, Sept. 15 at Cascade Community Church (35290 DeLair Rd.) and Columbia Bible College (2940 Clearbrook Rd.) from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
It is also held on Saturday, Sept. 18 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at electors’ assigned voting divisions – there are 16 – listed on their voter notification cards.
Voting can also be done by mail by applying online by Sept. 22 at abbotsford.ca/election.
On voting day on Sept. 25, electors must go to the voting place within their voting division.
Electors who have not received a voting card can find out how to register by visiting the city website.
There are nine candidates running for one council seat in the byelection: Dan Dennill, Aird Flavelle, David McLauren, Korky Neufeld, Tom Norton, Gerda Peachey, Dave Sidhu, Manjit Sohi and Dao Tran.
Questionnaire responses from the byelection candidates will be published in the Sept. 16th edition of The Abbotsford News.
vhopes@abbynews.com
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