- Incumbent: Janet Routledge (NDP | 2017)
- Candidates:
- NDP: Janet Routledge
- Conservative: Michael Wu
- Independent: Martin Kendell
- 2020 Results:
- NDP – 57%
- Liberal – 31%
- Green – 11%
- Description:
- The last of the Burnaby ridings to fall to the NDP’s 21st century reconquista, it took 16 years for the NDP to finally pry loose the BC Liberal grip on Burnaby North. Between 1966 and 1996, it had an unbroken NDP streak, in comparison to its southern brethren which had the occasional fling with the SoCreds.
- Burnaby North is home to a unique confluence of demographic factors. The Capitol Hill neighbourhood is home to older buildings and union boys who vote NDP out of habit, having a strong Italian presence in particular. Meanwhile, neighbourhoods south of Hastings like Willingdon Heights have seen new builds go up and a growing Chinese population. Do keep in mind that residents of Burnaby are more likely to rent compared to the provincial average, and are thus more transient.
- The NDP has renominated incumbent MLA Janet Routledge, a former public servant union organizer. The Conservatives first nominated Simon Chandler, then moved him over to Burnaby East to take in BC United candidate Michael Wu as one of their own. While an uphill battle, Wu will likely come the closest to winning out of any Conservative candidate in Burnaby.
Hugh Chan is a second year student at UBC studying International Relations and Data Science. You can find more coverage of the 2024 BC election as well as politics across East Asia and the Anglosphere at https://x.com/shxnhugh.
