Chamber of Commerce to host separate meetings for candidates in two main local ridings

Aspiring members of Parliament in Abbotsford are set to appear at a pair of all-candidates forum next week. Tyler Olsen/Abbotsford News

Next week is a big one for those trying to decide who to vote for in this month’s federal election.

The Abbotsford Chamber of Commerce will hold a pair of all-candidate meetings.

The candidates in the Abbotsford riding are set to convene in a forum on Oct. 8 from 6:30 to 9:15 p.m. The Mission-Matsqui-Fraser Canyon candidates will meet Oct. 10 – also from 6:30 to 9:15 p.m. Both events will be held at the Matsqui Centennial Auditorium and are co-sponsored by the Fraser Valley Indo Canadian Business Association and the Fraser Valley Real Estate Board.

The Mission Regional Chamber of Commerce is hosting a separate meeting for Mission-Matsqui-Fraser Canyon candidates. It will take place in Mission on Oct. 9, from 6:30 to 9 p.m., at the Clarke Theatre.

The Mission-Matsqui-Fraser Canyon riding includes Matsqui Village, Matsqui Prairie, Auguston, and other areas of Abbotsford north of Upper Maclure/Maclure Road in the west and Bateman Road in the east. Most of the rest of the city is in the Abbotsford riding, although a portion of the city west of Mt. Lehman Road and south of Highway 11 is in the Langley-Aldergrove riding. For information on that race, go to langleyadvancetimes.com/federal-election.

The deadline to register to run in the election was Oct. 2. The Mission-Matsqui-Fraser Canyon candidates are: Julius Nick Csaszar (People’s Party); John Kidder (Green Party); Michael Nenn (NDP); Jati Sidhu (Liberal); Brad Vis (Conservative); and Elaine Wismer (Marxist-Leninist Party). The Abbotsford candidates are: Aeriol Alderking (Christian Heritage Party); Locke Duncan (People’s Party); Ed Fast (Conservative); Stephen Fowler (Green Party); Seamus Heffernan (Liberal); and Madeleine Sauve (NDP).

Next week, will also see a plethora of election coverage both online and in print.

The News will be at the two Abbotsford all-candidate meetings and cover the discussion in a live story on our website (abbynews.com).

The News will also be individually interviewing candidates for both local ridings. The interviews will be broadcast live on our Facebook page at facebook.com/myabbynews, and posted shortly after on our website. The interviews are slated to take place on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Times are dependent on candidate availability.

The News has also submitted a brief questionnaire to each candidate. Answers will appear in the newspaper next week.

For continued coverage, go to abbynews.com/federal-election.