Steveston–Richmond East

CPAC’s Catherine Pope takes a close look at Steveston–Richmond East. This riding covers half the city of Richmond, farmland and the historic fishing community of Steveston. Just over 10,000 people immigrated from Hong Kong here where nearly half the population identifies as ethnically Chinese – making for tense conversations about Canada’s relations with both China and Hong Kong. Because this coastal community hovers around sea level, climate change impacts like flooding are top of mind. Housing affordability is likewise a big issue.

Liberal incumbent Joe Peschisolido beat Conservative candidate Kenny Chiu by a narrow margin in 2015, but, this time around, Peschisolido has to answer to allegations facing his former law firm’s association with an alleged drug cartel kingpin. Lawyer and Kwantlen First Nation member Nicole Iaci is running for the Green Party, while Jaeden Dela Torre, an 18-year-old who’s keen to tackle climate change and income inequality, is the NDP candidate.