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Federal Liberals announce former B.C. MLA as new candidate in byelection

Richard Lee will face off against federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh
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Richard Lee, former MLA for the Burnaby North riding. (B.C. government photo)

A former B.C. MLA will be facing off against federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh in the Burnaby byelection, replacing former candidate Liberal Karen Wang.

The Liberals announced its new candidate Saturday.

Richard Lee served 16 years as an MLA in the Burnaby North riding until 2017, when he lost re-election to NDP MLA Janet Routledge. During his time in office he became the first Chinese-Canadian to serve as Deputy Speaker of the Legislature.

In a statement on Twitter he said he is proud to call Burnaby his home.

“I’m looking forward to working with Justin Trudeau to keep making progress on Burnaby’s priorities, like investing in new affordable housing and better transit, creating good middle-class jobs, and protecting a healthy environment for our kids and grandkids,” he said.

READ MORE: Burnaby byelection turmoil sparks debate about identity issues in politics

WATCH: Ex-Liberal candidate in Burnaby says volunteer wrote controversial post

Wang announced she’d be dropping out as the candidate Wednesday, after a controversial comment was found by the Toronto Star on WeChat, a Chinese-language forum, pointing to her Chinese origin and Singh’s Indian background.

A day after resigning as candidate, Wang wrote to the Liberal party requesting she be brought back into the race, but it was rejected. According to Wang, the comment was written by a volunteer in her campaign.

More to come.


@ashwadhwani
ashley.wadhwani@bpdigital.ca

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About the Author: Ashley Wadhwani-Smith

I began my journalistic journey at Black Press Media as a community reporter in my hometown of Maple Ridge, B.C.
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