Burnaby—New Westminster

Burnaby—New Westminster was a federal electoral district in the Metro Vancouver region of British Columbia, combining the southern portion of the city of Burnaby with the historic city of New Westminster. The riding stretched from the Metrotown urban centre — the largest shopping and office complex outside downtown Vancouver — south and east to the banks of the Fraser River, where New Westminster's compact downtown sat atop a hill overlooking the waterfront.

Candidates

• Peter Julian (NDP) — Born on April 16, 1962, in New Westminster, Julian attended New Westminster Secondary School before working a series of manual labour and factory jobs. As an adult learner, he later earned a degree in political science with a focus on international relations from the Université du Québec à Montréal. Before entering Parliament, he worked as a financial administrator and served as Executive Director of the Western Institute for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. First elected as MP for Burnaby—New Westminster in 2004, he was re-elected in 2006 and 2008, serving as NDP critic for International Trade, Transportation, Energy, and the 2010 Vancouver-Whistler Olympics.

• Paul Forseth (Conservative) — Born on December 14, 1946, in Vancouver, Forseth earned a B.Ed. from the University of British Columbia and a Public Administration Certificate from the University of Victoria. He worked for 21 years as a family justice counsellor, divorce mediator, child custody investigator, and probation officer in British Columbia's courts and corrections system. First elected as a Reform Party MP for New Westminster—Burnaby in 1993, defeating NDP incumbent Dawn Black, he served continuously until 2006, when Black recaptured the seat. He ran again in 2011 as the Conservative candidate in Burnaby—New Westminster, attempting to return to Parliament.

• Garth Evans (Liberal) — Evans was a Vancouver-based lawyer and partner at Barbeau Evans LLP who had previously served on Burnaby City Council. He received 10 percent of the vote, finishing third. He was later named Queen's Counsel by the BC government in 2015.

• Carrie McLaren (Green Party) — McLaren carried the Green Party banner in the riding, advocating for environmental and sustainability policies in this urban constituency.

• Tyler Pierce (Libertarian) — Pierce ran for the Libertarian Party, a minor party advocating for limited government.

• Joseph Theriault (Marxist-Leninist) — Theriault ran for the Marxist-Leninist Party of Canada.

About the Riding

Burnaby—New Westminster brought together two distinct but complementary communities. The Burnaby portion centred on the Metrotown area, one of Metro Vancouver's designated regional town centres, where a cluster of high-rise towers, shopping malls, and office buildings created a dense urban node connected by SkyTrain. The Edmonds area, further south, was a more modest residential neighbourhood. New Westminster, British Columbia's original colonial capital, contributed a compact, walkable downtown, heritage residential neighbourhoods on the hillside, and an evolving waterfront along the Fraser River where former industrial lands were being converted to mixed-use development.

The riding was ethnically diverse, with significant Chinese, South Asian, Filipino, and Korean communities alongside established European-origin populations. New Westminster had a somewhat older demographic profile with more heritage housing stock, while the Burnaby sections were rapidly densifying. The local economy was driven by retail and services at Metrotown, health care at Royal Columbian Hospital — one of the province's busiest trauma centres — education at Douglas College, and the film and television production industry that used Burnaby's studio facilities extensively.

Politically, Burnaby—New Westminster leaned solidly NDP. Peter Julian had held the seat since 2004 and built strong community ties. The 2011 contest featured an unusual dynamic: his Conservative opponent, Paul Forseth, was himself a former MP for the area who had served from 1993 to 2006, making the race a contest between two experienced parliamentarians. Julian won decisively with nearly 50 percent of the vote to Forseth's 36 percent, a margin of over 6,000 votes.

The 2011 campaign in the riding focused on health care funding for Royal Columbian Hospital, transit expansion along the Evergreen Line corridor, housing affordability in the rapidly densifying Metrotown area, and the economy. Julian's strong personal brand and the NDP's national momentum under Jack Layton reinforced his position. He would go on to serve as NDP critic for Energy and later as House Leader, continuing to represent the area through successive boundary changes into the New Westminster—Burnaby riding.