OTTAWA—The newly-acclaimed Liberal candidate in the B.C. riding of Burnaby South is touting community connections in her bid to beat NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh in a federal byelection expected next month. Singh relocated to British Columbia from Ontario last fall to run in the riding, after months of questions and speculation about where the former Brampton MPP would try to win his first seat at the federal level. Karen Wang, a local daycare business owner who was named Liberal candidate for Burnaby South on Dec. 29, said she can defeat the NDP leader because of her strong ties to the community. Originally from China, Wang moved to Burnaby with her husband 20 years ago. She said she now oversees a daycare chain with nine employees, started a non-profit to perform Chinese opera and visit seniors homes, and is raising her family in the suburban city east of Vancouver. Wang said she is also informed by the experience of running in the 2017 provincial election for the B.C. Liberals, when she canvassed thousands of homes in the area. She lost to the provincial NDP candidate by 2,256 votes. “I am very familiar with this community, and I understand what people’s needs are,” Wang told the Star in an interview. She said housing affordability, job creation, transit improvement and the environment are the top priorities for her campaign. Read more: ‘Profoundly disturbing’: NDP slams Trudeau for not calling byelection in Burnaby SouthAt year’s end, Liberals and Tories neck-and-neck in race to fill candidate slateJagmeet Singh and the NDP look to change the narrative in 2019She also supports the government’s effort to expand the Trans Mountain oil pipeline, which runs from Alberta to a terminal in Burnaby. Singh has repeatedly attacked the Trudeau government’s decision to buy the existing pipeline for $4.5 billion, and highlighted his opposition to the expansion project when he announced he would run in Burnaby South last A ...
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