Centre BC leader Elenore Sturko running in Surrey South for provincial election
Published 1:09 pm Friday, September 25, 2026
CentreBC Party leader Elenore Sturko is returning to her roots, and running in the riding she was first elected in four years ago, Surrey South.
Sturko, who was elected to the Surrey South riding in a 2022 byelection when former MLA Stephanie Cadieux left electoral politics to become Canada’s first Chief Accessibility Officer, said she just recently made the decision.
“This is where I was first elected in 2022 in a byelection, and this is where I live. So I wanted to come back to my home riding for this campaign,” Sturko said Friday (Sept. 25). “I think that this is a really pivotal moment in British Columbia, and I wanted to campaign where I began my political career, here in Surrey South. It’s a community that I love.”
Sturko noted that she is grateful for her time in Cloverdale, and has “loved serving the people of Cloverdale,” saying that between Surrey South and Surrey-Cloverdale, she and her office have served more than 1,500 cases from the public where they provide assistance in connecting people to government services and helping them navigate problems they’re experiencing because of gaps in provincial services.
Some political pundits and social media users have said those who vote for CentreBC will simply, split the vote and hand the NDP government another win, but Sturko doesn’t necessarily see it that way.
“I think that what we’re doing is offering an alternative,” Sturko said. “There are people who have said that they don’t want to vote for the NDP after nine years and how (NDP leader) David Eby in particular has created a humongous economic downturn for us (and) created the largest provincial debt in our province’s history, but also people who don’t feel that they can vote for the Conservatives.”
She has heard from “a large portion of people” who have said they’d rather stay home and not vote, or spoil their ballots “because they just couldn’t bring themselves to vote for the other two parties.”
“We feel that we’re that alternative for those individuals who wouldn’t otherwise be feeling comfortable in participating in the democratic process. And if we can get people out and voting and participating in our democratic process … it’s actually part of our civic duty.”
Sturko added that, after witnessing the “chaos of the Conservatives over the last two years, a lot of people don’t feel that they’re the stable option, and they just can’t support another four years of the NDP after nine disastrous years.”
Sturko was removed from the BC Conservative caucus last September. After sitting as an independent, she joined CentreBC earlier this month.
CentreBC has a vision for a balanced approach to government, and to make British Columbia a safer, more affordable, and prosperous province to call home, according to the party website, and Sturko agreed.
“CentreBC — our plan and our vision for British Columbia, the vision that I’m bringing forward, is one where we create a British Columbia that works with Ottawa and our federal partners and other provincial partners to create a British Columbia that is the best place for people, the best place for investment, and provides the best quality of life in the country,” she said.
So far, she has heard “only rumours” about who else may be running in Surrey South.
Former Conservative MLA Brent Chapman, who was elected to represent the riding in 2024, has since left the Conservatives for the OneBC Party.
The party website lists him as candidate for South Surrey-White Rock, but no such provincial riding exists; there is Surrey South, and Surrey-White Rock.
Peace Arch News has reached out to Chapman and to OneBC.
Sturko is looking forward to the work ahead.
“I’m extremely proud of the work that I’ve done, and I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity provided to me by voters over the last four years. And I look forward to a bright future, whatever that is.”