B.C. candidates mostly in place for federal election

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Despite the early start to the federal election and the addition of half a dozen new ridings, the three major parties have already nominated candidates in all but a handful of B.C.'s electoral districts.

Of the province's 42 ridings, the Liberals have nominated candidates in 34, the Conservatives in 35 and the New Democrats in 39, according to tallies provided by each of the parties.

Among the ridings with outstanding nomination races are Coquitlam-Port Coquitlam, half of an old riding previously held by Conservative cabinet minister James Moore, where the Tories have yet to choose a candidate; and Green Leader Elizabeth May's riding of Saanich-Gulf Islands, which is still without an NDP candidate.

Richard Johnston, the Canada Research Chair in Public Opinion, Elections and Representation at the University of British Columbia, says delays in lining up a full slate of candidates have been routine in Canadian elections, and he said working them out allows electoral-district associations to fine-tune their campaign machines.

"The nomination race forces you to construct a campaign team of a sort," said Prof. Johnston.

Across Canada, the Conservatives have nominated 300 of 338 candidates, the Liberals 303 and the NDP 275.

The Green Party didn't respond to questions about its progress with nominations, but its website lists 25 candidates in B.C. and 146 nationwide.

Before Parliament was dissolved, the standings in B.C. were 20 Conservatives, 12 New Democrats, two Liberals, one Green and one Independent. The province previously had 36 seats.

Glen Sandford, the B.C. campaign director for the NDP, said the campaigns have been focused on an Oct. 19 voting day, and the early dropping of the writ has no impact on those plans.

Doug Horne, a Liberal member of the B.C. Legislature since 2009, is seeking to run for the Conservatives in the new riding of Coquitlam-Port Coquitlam to replace Mr. Moore. (The provincial B.C. Liberal Party is not affiliated with the federal Liberals. Rather, it is a coalition of federal Conservatives and Liberals.)

Although Mr. Horne has yet to be nominated, and doesn't expect the issue to be resolved until mid-August, he isn't worried about starting late.

"It's going to be a bit of a scramble but I am sure we're going to be fine," said Mr. Horne, 48.

Mr. Horne is looking to return to Ottawa after working for the Brian Mulroney Progressive Conservatives in the 1980s.

He plans to resign from the legislature if nominated to run federally.

In Fleetwood-Port Kells, Ken Hardie was expecting to be acclaimed Tuesday as the Liberal candidate in the Surrey riding where Conservative Nina Grewal won in 2011. Ms. Grewal is seeking re-election. The NDP have nominated former RCMP inspector Garry Begg.

Mr. Hardie has decided to seek the support of voters after working as a key spokesperson for TransLink, the regional transit and transportation authority, as well as in communications for the Insurance Corporation of British Columbia and with the Vancouver Police Department.

He joined the Liberals in the 1960s, but decided to seek elected office, he said, because he felt he has gained expertise in varied issues by being in the room for discussions on transit, policing and other matters.

Mr. Hardie, who retired from TransLink in 2013 and is now 68, says his volunteer team of about 50 members have already been canvassing voters to measure support for the Liberals.

"Even in the absence of a candidate, we have been deploying the ground game now for months," he said.