Skip to content

Liberals have high hopes for new riding of Pitt Meadows-Maple Ridge

Riding president believes Justin Trudeau will boost interest in the party locally
74111mapleridgeJustinListening
Justin Trudeau speaks to supporters in Vancouver last week.

The Pitt Meadows-Maple Ridge Liberal Riding Association believes their party’s leader Justin Trudeau will be the answer to winning the 2015 federal election race.

Recently in Vancouver for B.C. Day celebrations, the former B.C. resident, son of Pierre Trudeau and party leader who most describe as charismatic met, with B.C. Liberal riding members including ones from Pitt Meadows.

Although Pitt Meadows-Maple Ridge Liberal Party of Canada president Ian Sas was unable to attend the event, he wishes he could have been there.

Highlighting Trudeau’s current high ranking in leadership polls, Sas says he admires Trudeau’s leadership capabilities.

“He (Trudeau) represents the interests of Canadians very well.”

Established only a few months ago, the local Liberal riding association, says Sas, is gaining in popularity. “There’s a lot of excitement around our national candidate.”

Regular fund-raising events and gatherings such as a coffee house meeting held every first and second Tuesday of the month has helped build popularity  for the group, says Sas. A nomination meeting for candidate selection has not been confirmed yet.

In 2011, Liberal candidate Mandeep Bhullar got 2,739 or five per cent of the popular vote.

The federal electoral commission redrew riding boundaries in January. The new riding coincide with municipal ones, using the most common sense divisions, Pitt River in the west and 287th Street in the east.

The change puts the riding population at about 94,000 people, about 10 per cent less than the target population for each riding of 104,763.