Surrey school board candidate jumps to B.C. race with Conservatives
Published 2:48 pm Friday, October 2, 2026
Garry Thind is switching his focus from the civic election in Surrey to the provincial election.
Thind, who has been announced as the Conservative Party of B.C.’s candidate for MLA in Surrey-Guildford for the Oct. 24 provincial election, was already running in the municipal election for Surrey school board trustee.
Because B.C. NDP leader David Eby called the snap provincial election on Sept. 22, several days after the Sept. 18 deadline to withdraw from the municipal race, Thind said the deadlines mean he can’t withdraw from the race for school board, where he was serving as vice-chair prior to campaigning for trustee in the Oct. 17 civic election.
“If people want to leave me out and … don’t want a byelection to happen for the school board in Surrey, they can leave me out and pick any other six candidates of their choice. There are 24 (school board trustee candidates) running in school district,” Thind said. “Running for two positions was not my choice.”
Candidates wishing to run in both elections may do so, but if they get elected to a provincial office as well as a civic position, the provincial position would take precedence, forcing a byelection to replace the municipal candidate.
Candidates who wish to withdraw from the civic race after the deadline set by their municipality, which was Sept. 18 for most communities in B.C., can’t withdraw of their own accord — they have to request their city’s chief electoral officer send a letter to the province asking to withdraw, which may or may not then be approved by the Ministry of Housing and Municipal Affairs.
Former White Rock mayoral candidate Megan Knight was successful in her bid to the province and was able to withdraw from White Rock’s civic mayoral race to instead run for the Conservative Party of B.C. in Surrey South.
Thind said Knight and the city must have been able to appeal to the province before any ballots had been printed, and he noted the issue is something several candidates across the province are considering after Eby’s snap election call.
“There were lots of candidates who were running for mayor or council and school board trustees …. (it was) their intention to run provincially but now, some of them can’t.”
Thind said education has always been important to him and noted his experience with the Surrey school board for the past 12 years has helped prepare him for a provincial position, where he feels he could do more.
“There are certain things that I cannot do at the school board level and I have always wished that I could go to the provincial level,” Thind shared, adding that, while education will still be a priority for him if elected as MLA, he will also look to address other issues in the province that he says the NDP “have completely neglected,” including illicit drugs and overdose issues, extortion threats, housing and affordability.
“I have a proven track record that I have always delivered. I’m very deeply involved with the community — not just my Indo-Canadian community but the community at large. I go to any event that I can, and I listen to people’s concerns.”
Thind also leads a non-profit organization that has raised $5.4 million since 2002 to help people with physical and mental disabilities, he added, noting it runs with “zero administration cost.”
Thind said he feels the main reason “our economy has gone down the drain” is because of “the bad policies this NDP government has made.”
“I think we need to fix those policies. Just applying new taxes won’t solve any problem. We need to find out ways where the British Columbia government can generate more income,” he said.