B.C. Votes 2017: Surrey-Cloverdale riding profile

In advance of the 2017 B.C. election, we'll be profiling all 87 electoraldistricts in the province. Here is Surrey-Cloverdale, one of nine ridings in Surrey and one where the new Liberal candidate is very well known to most voters.

Summary:The riding used to extend from the north of Cloverdale all the way to the U.S. border, but with Surrey and White Rock adding a ninth riding, Surrey-Cloverdale has shrunk and moved northwards, adding parts of Surrey-Fleetwood and Surrey-Tynehead (now known as Guildford).

The riding now broadly goes from Highway 10 in the south, 96th Avenue and Highway 1 in the north, 160th Street and Northview Golf and Country Club to the west, and anywhere from 188thto 196th Street to the east.

Politics:Surrey-Cloverdale has gone to the B.C. Liberals ever since it was created prior to the 1991 election. Federally, the area has typically elected candidates from right-wing parties, but did elect the federal Liberals in 2015.

The polling stations in the new riding gave the Liberals 57.3 per cent in the 2013 election, compared to 32.5 per cent for the NDP.

Candidates:After representing voters in neighbouring Surrey-Panorama Ridge in 2013, Liberal MLA Marvin Hunt has moved to this riding. Prior to entering provincial politics, Hunt had a decades-long career as a Surrey city councillor.

The NDP candidate isRebecca Smith,executive directorof the Surrey Hospice Societyand federal party's 2015 candidate in Cloverdale-Langley City, receiving 15.65 per cent of the vote.

The Green Party candidate isAleksandra Muniak, a local small business owner.

Where does the NDP do well?There are a few polling stations in Cloverdale, particularly around 176th Street, where the party has been competitive in recent elections, but that's about the extent of the party's success.

What about the Liberals?It does very well throughout the riding, but the party's strength comes from the agricultural area between Cloverdale and the rest of Surrey and the northern and western outskirts of Cloverdale, gaining between 60 and 70 per cent of the vote with regularity.

Who's running in the 2017 British Columbia election?