With six seats in Surrey and Delta, the area south of the Fraser River is setting up to be one of the country’s political battlegrounds.

Surrey Centre is a diverse seat, with a little bit more than a third of residents identifying as South Asian, while a little less than a third identify as being of European descent.

Ethnic and identity politics have been a huge part of previous election campaigns and will no doubt play out in ethnic media, as well as in cultural centres across Surrey and across the country.

Four years ago, part of the Liberal breakthrough in British Columbia included huge growth in Surrey. MP Randeep Sarai quit working as a lawyer to run for the party and won the seat with 19,471 votes (45.1 per cent).

Sarai beat NDP incumbent Jasbir Sandhu by nearly 6,500 votes. Sandhu gathered 12,992 votes (30.1 per cent) and Conservative candidate Sucha Thind finished third with 8,556 votes (19.81 per cent).

The riding has been redistributed many times over the decades because of huge population growth in Surrey. But the Liberal breakthrough in the region in 2015 was the first time a majority of people in Surrey Centre had been represented by the party.

Looking back at the area, there have been NDP, Canadian Alliance, Reform and Conservative MPs. That is why the three major parties have their eyes set on Surrey Centre.

Sarai is running again for the Liberals. B.C. public servant Tina Bains is running for the Conservatives. Human resources professional Sarjit Saran is running for the NDP.

Candidates

Liberal: Randeep Sarai
Conservative: Tina Bains
NDP: Sarjit Saran
Green: Not yet nominated
People’s Party of Canada: Jaswinder Singh Dilawari
Christian Heritage: Kevin Pielak

Geography

The riding is in the City of Surrey and runs from 88 Avenue north to the Fraser River.

Demographics

South Asian: 41,515: 35.1 per cent
European: 36,890: 31.2 per cent
Filipino: 10,710: 9 per cent
Chinese: 6,800: 5.7 per cent

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