UPDATE: B.C. Conservatives name incumbent White Rock mayor as Surrey South candidate

Published 3:10 pm Friday, September 25, 2026

White Rock mayoral candidate Megan Knight is switching elections.

Knight, who was elected mayor of the seaside city in 2022 after serving as a city councillor from 2014-2018, has just been announced as the candidate for the B.C. Conservatives for MLA in Surrey South, the riding formerly represented by Brent Chapman.

The Conservative Party of B.C. sent out a release announcing her candidacy on Friday afternoon (Sept. 25).

Chapman announced earlier this week that he is moving to the OneBC party ahead of the upcoming provincial election.

NDP leader David Eby called the snap election on Tuesday (Sept. 22), citing the threat of U.S. President Donald Trump as the main reason for calling for a B.C.-wide election while a municipal election is underway.

Voters will head to the polls for municipal voting on Saturday, Oct. 17, followed by the provincial election polls one week later, on Saturday, Oct. 24.

Lorne Doerkson, leader of the Conservative Party of B.C., touted Knight’s virtues as a candidate.

“British Columbians deserve leaders who are straight with them, who outwork everyone in the room, and who never forget who they work for,” said Doerkson. “That’s Megan. She’s the change B.C. deserves: honest about the money, humble about the job and relentless about getting results.”

Knight is quoted in the release as saying that her door “has always been open, and it always will be.”

“I don’t have all the answers, and I’ve never pretended to,” she said. “What I do have is a work ethic and a promise to tell people the truth. Families in Surrey South are working harder than ever and falling further behind. They deserve a government that respects their money and earns their trust. That’s the change B.C. needs, and I’m ready to work for it.

It’s not Knight’s first foray into provincial politics; in 2020, she sought the BC Liberal nomination for Surrey-White Rock, a seat ultimately won by now-Conservative MLA Trevor Halford.

Her candidacy in Surrey South sets up a showdown against former Surrey South MLA Elenore Sturko, who will fly the CentreBC flag after being named that party’s leader earlier this week. Most recently, Sturko represented Surrey-Cloverdale as an independent, after being removed from the B.C. Conservative caucus last September.

Whether the Surrey South riding’s most recent incumbent, Brent Chapman, will join them in a three-way race is yet to be confirmed.

Chapman, who was elected to represent the riding in 2024, has since left the Conservatives for the OneBC Party. That party’s 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 for clarity.

The B.C. Conservative announcement means Knight will likely be out of the current race for mayor in White Rock.

Whether her name will remain on the civic ballot remains an open question. White Rock’s deputy chief election officer, Tracey Arthur, confirmed to Peace Arch News that the city has an inquiry in with the province because the province would have to approve a candidate withdrawal at this stage in the race. The city hopes to have more information regarding the ballot by early next week.

Knights’ departure would leave Susan Bains and Chris Shields to contend for that seat at the council table.

Candidates can run in both elections, but they cannot sit as both an MLA and a local official, according to a recently passed provincial law.

Peace Arch News has also reached out to Knight for comment.

— with files from Mark Page