SURREY, B.C. - When voters in Surrey-Newton head to the polls on October 24, they will be choosing between two candidates with deep roots in the riding: incumbent NDP MLA Jessie Sunner and Dr. Harj Dhaliwal, the Conservative Party of BC candidate whose resume spans business leadership, university teaching, and six years on the board of TransLink.
Dhaliwal is a business executive, educator, and community leader with extensive experience in organizational leadership, governance, public transportation, and community development. Over his career he has held senior executive and leadership roles in both the private and post-secondary sectors, leading complex organizations and major construction development initiatives while working with diverse teams and stakeholders across British Columbia.
He holds an MBA and a PhD in Organization Development and Leadership, and has taught business and management courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. His public-sector governance experience is a centrepiece of his pitch: six years as a Director of TransLink, the transit authority serving Metro Vancouver, and four years on the board of the BC SPCA.
That TransLink experience could matter to Surrey-Newton voters. The riding is one of Surrey’s most transit-dependent communities, and Dhaliwal’s campaign leans on his record of governance at the region’s transportation table as proof he can deliver infrastructure for the neighbourhoods he is asking to represent.
Dhaliwal has also been a longtime leader in youth soccer in Newton and across the region. He has served as Chair of the South Fraser District Association, Chair of the Surrey Metro Soccer Association, a Board Member of the BC Coastal Soccer League, and President of the Central City Breakers Football Club in Newton. He has lived in Surrey for 28 years, where he and his wife raised their family, and has been an active community leader throughout that time.
Surrey-Newton enters this election as NDP territory, but not by much. In 2024, Jessie Sunner took the seat with 7,924 votes (51.2%), ahead of Conservative Tegjot Bal at 6,658 (43.0%) - a margin of 1,266 votes. The riding had been held by NDP stalwart Harry Bains before Sunner’s 2024 win. This time the race is a three-way contest between Dhaliwal, Sunner, and CentreBC’s Harman Preet Singh.
For the Conservatives, Surrey-Newton is one of the ridings where a strong candidate could flip a seat held by a thin margin. Dhaliwal’s executive background and transit credentials are the tools his party is counting on to make that case.
Advance voting in Surrey-Newton runs October 16 to 21, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., at Westerman Elementary School (7626 122 Street), Kwantlen Polytechnic University (12666 72 Avenue), Frank Hurt Secondary School Community Building (13940 77 Avenue), and Princess Margaret Secondary School (12870 72 Avenue). General voting day is Saturday, October 24.
Photo: Conservative Party of BC (conservativebc.ca)
Sources: conservativebc.ca; Elections BC; bcballot.ca
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