Federal byelection called in B.C.’s Cloverdale-Langley City riding

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced that a byelection will be held in the federal seat of Cloverdale-Langley City, in British Columbia’s Lower Mainland, on Dec. 16.

It comes a little under six months after former MP John Aldag, who had represented the Liberals in the seat from 2015-19 and then from 2021 until May, resigned to run for the B.C. NDP in the provincial election.

Aldag was defeated in the Langley-Abbotsford riding by B.C. Conservative candidate Harman Bhangu, gaining just under 34 per cent of the votes after final results were released last week.

The byelection for the federal seat is the 11th such campaign since the 2021 federal election.

Cloverdale-Langley City covers an area of Surrey, B.C., as well as the entire City of Langley. The 2021 census showed there were around 130,000 residents there.

Campaigns in Cloverdale-Langley City have been closely fought during the previous two elections, with Aldag losing by fewer than 1,500 votes in 2019 to the federal Conservatives, and winning by about 1,650 votes in 2021.

The Liberal Party said it will nominate a candidate for the seat on Sunday evening.

Trudeau’s party has taken a few humiliating byelection losses of late, including in previously safe Liberal seats in Montreal and Toronto.

The federal Conservatives hope to retake the riding with their candidate Tamara Jansen, a former MP who previously held the seat from 2019 to 2021. 

Elections Canada says there will be four advanced voting days — from Dec. 6 to 9 — at assigned polling stations in the Cloverdale-Langley City district. Registered voters can also cast a ballot at the Elections Canada office between now and Dec. 10.

To vote by mail, voters have to apply by 6 p.m. PT on Dec. 10, and return their ballot by mail, or in person at the Elections Canada office, before polls close on Dec. 16.