Skip to content

Meet the Candidate: Michael Henshall

Introducing Conservative candidate for Chilliwack-Hope, Michael Henshall
51278chilliwackConservativeMichaelHenshall
Conservative candidate for Chilliwack-Hope

What is your background/political experience?

I’ve lived in the upper Fraser Valley with my wife and three children since 1995. I began my working career in the commercial fishing industry. I owned a local contracting business for over 10 years and was the former president of a Ltd. corporation. I am a certified ESL teacher (TWU/ UFV) that has worked in an immigrant settlement program with provincial government/Chilliwack Community Services partnership. I’ve also been a licenced realtor (UBC Sauder school of business) since 2005. I have been a federal Conservative Party member and volunteer, a member of the BC Conservative party, previous vice-president and president BC Conservatives Chilliwack/Hope CA, and a member and director of the Popkum Ratepayers.

What are the most pressing issues currently facing the riding?

The most pressing issues currently facing the riding are rising unemployment and the large inefficiencies in provincial government that is hindering our tax dollars from getting to where we want them in health care and education. The Auditor General of BC has addressed these inefficiencies but no provincial party has a plan to deal with them except the BC Conservatives.

If elected, what would be your main priority as MLA?

My main priority as an MLA on a local level would be to ensure there is proper funding for the Hope hospital, health care providers, education of our youth, the justice system and the local transportation routes. In conjunction to ensure this funding for the local economy, I will fight for viable local mining, forestry and tourism proposals that have gone nowhere to date, through low taxation and streamlining red tape and the multi levels of bloated provincial bureaucracy. The key to funding social benefits is to have a healthy, vibrant economy.

What can be done to stimulate economic growth in the Hope area?

The BC Conservatives are looking at the outright elimination of the property transfer tax as well as the elimination of the Carbon Tax. Basic economics states you can not tax and spend people into prosperity (look at Greece and Spain as a recent examples). When consumption taxes are lowered, the economy is stimulated, thereby increasing labour and production where government can make income tax and capital gains taxes. The young workforce is our tax base!  We have the highest overall tax this side of Quebec and the BC Liberals and BC NDP only want to increase it. We will only lose more young people and kill the remaining business we do have functioning in our province. I will also be an advocate for tourism in the Hope area and upper Fraser Valley. We have huge potential for Hope and area to be a place where families can live, work and play with the right government.

Why should people vote for you?

What the B.C. government has been doing for the past 20 years is not working.  You should vote for me because myself and the BC Conservatives do have a plan. We are proposing legislative and tax reform that will create more scrutiny of our provincial expenses to eliminate waste and the bloated bureaucracy that the Auditor General has addressed. We have a plan to see health, education and justice systems function effectively. We have a plan to bring good paying jobs to B.C. We have a plan to make B.C. a place where all ages of citizens can live, work, play, and prosper.