Can federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh win in Burnaby?

The next federal election won’t happen for another year, but some B.C. voters will get an chance to put their stamp on it before that. 

Federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh will compete in a byelection for the Burnaby South seat that was vacated by Vancouver mayoral candidate Kennedy Stewart. 

The Green Party won’t run a candidate against Singh, as a “leader’s courtesy” to the Ontario native. The Conservatives haven’t made a statement on the issue, while the Liberal Party intends to run a candidate. 

Stewart won the riding in 2015 by a 600-vote margin, narrowly edging Liberal challenger Adam Pankratz. 

Ontario native Singh has said that if he wins the election he’ll move west to Burnaby.

While he doesn’t necessarily need a seat in Parliament to represent the NDP as leader, a byelection win for Singh would help raise his profile and would likely help the party with campaign funding. 

Expect Singh’s Burnaby campaign to push heavily against the Liberals’ planned expansion of the Kinder Morgan pipeline.