With a federal election expected to be called in the coming days, just two candidates have been confirmed by parties for the Chilliwack-Hope riding.
Salina Derish will run for the Green Party, and Jeff Galbraith will run for the People's Party of Canada.
Prime Minister Mark Carney is expected to call an election on Sunday, March 23.
The Chilliwack-Hope seat is currently held by Conservative MP Mark Strahl, who was first elected May 2, 2011 (then called the Chilliwack-Fraser Canyon riding). He was elected after his father, the late Chuck Strahl, stepped down. The senior Strahl had been the MP for the riding since 1993.
Strahl has not officially announced whether he intends to run again. And neither the Liberal Party nor the NDP have announced candidates for the Chilliwack-Hope riding as of March 21.
Galbraith's biography on the PPC website notes that he is a semi-retired pensioner and Royal Canadian Navy veteran.
"Jeff shares the frustrations and disillusionment many Canadians feel about the current state of the nation," it states. "He answered Maxime Bernier’s call for nation-loving Canadians to step up, and was acclaimed as Candidate for Chilliwack-Hope in 2023."
He currently works at a local major manufacturing and exporting company, has coached minor hockey and has served as president of his strata.
Derish is a Chilliwack business owner who was announced as the Green candidate in February, although she is not currently listed on the Green's candidate website.
Derish has worked over the years to "strengthen food security, support local farmers, and inspire real change." She grew up in the Fraser Valley and has dedicated the past few years in environmental and community advocacy. She is the president of PickEco Zero Waste Society and one of the founding directors of the Downtown Chilliwack Market Society.
"In uncertain times, whether due to economic shifts, environmental challenges, or global instability, local solutions matter" Derish said in a press release. "I am committed to policies that empower communities, strengthen local economies, and prioritize sustainability. With renewed calls to ‘buy local’ in response to proposed U.S. tariffs, such advocacy is more relevant than ever.”
She takes over from Arthur Green, the former candidate for the Green Party. Green said he resigned from the party, and declined to run again, "due to the International political unrest and the immediate threat to our democracy."
An expert in sustainable living, in 2018 she founded PickEco Refills, the first zero-waste grocery store in the valley. Two years later, in order to further reduce environmental impact, and reduce her business's carbon footprint, she created PickEco Compost.
-with files from Kemone Moodley, Black Press Media
