Richmond South Centre

Richmond South Centre was one of British Columbia's newest provincial ridings, created through the 2015 electoral redistribution from territory previously belonging to Richmond Centre, Richmond East, and Richmond-Steveston. Covering roughly seven square kilometres of downtown Richmond, it ranked as the most densely populated riding in the city and the second smallest in the entire province. With a population of approximately 50,000, the riding contained a high proportion of apartment dwellers and residents whose first language was not English. Though the riding was new, its predecessor seats in the area had been held by BC Liberals for decades, and the party had dominated the area in the 2013 election.

The 2017 contest was significant because it featured Linda Reid, then the longest-serving female MLA in British Columbia history, seeking her seventh consecutive term in the Legislature. Reid had served as Speaker of the Legislative Assembly from 2013 to 2017, giving her a high profile but also limiting her ability to advocate publicly on local issues during the preceding term.

Candidates

Linda Reid (BC Liberal Party) — First elected in 1991 as a schoolteacher representing Richmond East, Reid had served continuously in the Legislature for twenty-six years by the time of the 2017 election. Born in Vancouver in 1959, she held a Bachelor of Education and a Master of Arts from the University of British Columbia. Over her career she served as Minister of State for Early Childhood Development and Minister of State for Childcare under Premier Gordon Campbell, and as the 37th Speaker of the Legislative Assembly from 2013 to 2017.

Chak Au (BC NDP) — Au was a twice-elected Richmond City Councillor and former Richmond School Board Trustee who served from 1999 to 2011. A family therapist by profession, he had worked as an assistant professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong before immigrating to Canada in 1988. Au was acclaimed as the NDP's candidate for Richmond South Centre, being the only nominee.

Greg Powell (BC Green Party) — Powell was a minister at the Castlegar United Church and a former organizer with the Pembina Institute. His candidacy attracted attention because he lived in Castlegar, over 600 kilometres from the riding he sought to represent. Green Party leader Andrew Weaver endorsed Powell as a strong voice for Indigenous rights, climate justice, and poverty reduction.

Local Issues

Housing affordability dominated the political conversation in Richmond South Centre heading into the 2017 election. Downtown Richmond had experienced rapid densification in the years leading up to the vote, with an abundance of new high-rise construction transforming the skyline. Residents expressed growing concern about the disconnect between rising property values and stagnant wages, particularly for renters and young families. The BC Liberal government's introduction of a fifteen per cent foreign buyers tax in Metro Vancouver in the summer of 2016 was a direct response to escalating prices, but critics argued the measure was too little, too late.

Transportation was another pressing concern. The Canada Line rapid transit station in the heart of the riding provided a direct link to Vancouver and the airport, but bus service to outlying parts of the riding was seen as inadequate for the growing population. Residents also raised concerns about traffic congestion on major corridors like No. 3 Road and Westminster Highway as new developments brought more residents without proportional road and transit improvements.

Health care access was a further concern in the riding, particularly for the large population of seniors and new immigrants. Wait times at Richmond Hospital and access to family physicians were frequently cited issues. The riding's linguistic diversity — with large Cantonese- and Mandarin-speaking populations — also raised questions about the availability of multilingual health and social services.