- Incumbent: Mike Farnworth (NDP | 2005)
- Candidates:
- NDP: Mike Farnworth
- Conservative: Keenan Adams
- Green: Adam Bremner-Akins
- 2020 Results:
- NDP – 64%
- Liberal – 21%
- Green – 13%
- Description:
- Aside from the brief mania of Brad West Draft Week that saw the Port Coquitlam Mayor get elevated to whatever the political equivalent of Shohei Ohtani is, the right never had a good shot at taking Port Coquitlam. Part of that is Mike Farnworth, now running for the 9th time as a New Democrat. Against him is locomotive engineer Keenan Adams, formerly BC United’s choice in the riding and Adam Bremner-Akins, Secretary of the BC Greens and university student.
- The least university educated of the Tri-Cities quartet, Port Coquitlam is a classically working-class, suburban riding just like the two Maple Ridge swing seats across the Pitt River. The only reason why the riding isn’t more competitive is due to Farnworth, who is practically an institution in the riding. Since 2009, Farnworth has won every election by double digits, even crossing 60% in the pandemic election of 2020.
- The New Democrats tend to do well across the riding, thanks to the strong industrial background of the riding with the rail yard and all. The seat also serves as a regional rail hub for goods travelling along the Canadian Pacific Kansas City to downtown Vancouver and back. Transit in particular is a major issue - Mayor Brad West has long been an advocate for a Skytrain extension to the City.
- Areas of strength for the right can be found in Mary Hill and Birchland Manor, which are higher income and more well-to-do. Adams will have to win both to make a good showing. While Farnworth should be advantaged, what to watch for here is where the NDP slips and by how much. Once he retires, expect this seat to become quite a bit more competitive.
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.
