VICTORIA — Premier Christy Clark has recruited a prominent business leader to run in Surrey in the May provincial election.
Former Coastal Capital Savings CEO Tracy Redies will be the B.C. Liberal candidate in Surrey-White Rock, the party is to announce Monday.
“Tracy is a well-respected leader in both her career and community, devoting her time and talents to making a real difference in people’s lives,” B.C. Liberal president Sharon White said in a statement. “With her extensive business background and financial expertise, she knows firsthand the importance of a strong economy and the benefits it returns to British Columbians.
“It’s exciting that a candidate of her calibre is willing to step up and put her name forward for our party.”
The move comes after Clark publicly called this month for more strong female leaders to enter politics, and told a conference of young women and business leaders that the battle has not yet been won for gender equity in the workplace.
Redies is currently chairs the board of the University of Victoria. She was president and CEO of Coast Capital Savings from 2009 to 2014, and was also on the board of B.C. Hydro until earlier this month. She’s also a member of the premier’s women’s economic council.
Redies will be running for the seat vacated by Liberal MLA Gordie Hogg, who has announced he would retire. She lives in South Surrey with her husband.
The riding of Surrey-White Rock is considered safe territory for the Liberals, who have held it every election since its current configuration in 1991. Hogg won with almost 58 per cent of the vote in 2013, compared to 28 per cent for the NDP challenger.
Surrey is expected to be a key battleground in the next election, with a new ninth riding created for the fast-growing region.
Two Liberal cabinet ministers — Peter Fassbender in Surrey-Fleetwood, and Amrik Virk in Surrey-Guildford (formerly Tynehead) — are facing tough fights for re-election after a boundary readjustment process changed their riding borders for 2017.
