Year in Review – October:
The 2019 federal election in October turned all of Richmond a Conservative blue.
Incumbent Liberal MP Joe Peschisolido lost his bid for re-election in Steveston-Richmond East, bested by Conservative Kenny Chiu in a rematch between the two candidates.
In Richmond Centre, Alice Wong was a shoo-in as the Conservative candidate, with electors sending her to Ottawa for a fourth time. She beat second-place candidate Steven Kou, running for the Liberals, by more than 20 per cent.
With the main competition between the Liberals and Conservatives, the NDP and the Greens had lower profiles throughout the campaign in Richmond, placing third and fourth respectively in both Richmond ridings.
But this didn’t keep the environment off the table, and, for the first time, it became a hot-button issue in the election, with the Liberals defending their purchase of the Trans-Mountain Pipeline and the NDP and Greens tripping over themselves for the youth-oriented eco-vote.
The Conservatives largely avoided green issues, and both local candidates chose not to attend an environment-focused all-candidates meeting. Their tagline throughout the campaign was “more money in your pocket.”
In the end, the Liberal Party suffered losses across the country and ended up with a minority government, taking 157 seats.
The Conservative Party took 121 seats and remains the official opposition.
In mid-December, however, leader Andrew Scheer stepped down.
Some candidates were hardly visible during the election. Dustin Innes, who ran for the NDP in Richmond Centre, sustained an injury early in the election period and was not able to campaign.
The youngest local candidate, Jaeden Dela Torre, who ran for the NDP in Steveston-Richmond East hadn’t reached his 19th birthday by election day.
