Provincial election 2026: Who’s running in Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows, and what do they stand for?
Residents of Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows will head to the polls – again – on Saturday, Oct. 24, as B.C.’s provincial election brings a new round of political competition to the two local ridings.
The election comes as Premier David Eby’s BC NDP seeks another mandate, while the BC Conservatives attempt to form government amid growing concerns about the cost of living, government spending and access to public services.
Locally, there are eight candidates competing across Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge East electoral districts, representing BC NDP, BC Conservatives, BC Greens, CentreBC, OneBC and an independent candidacy.
Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows: Four candidates compete for Beare’s seat
The Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows riding includes Pitt Meadows and western portions of Maple Ridge, including the Hammond and Haney areas.
Incumbent NDP MLA Lisa Beare is seeking re-election against Conservative Doug Morneau, OneBC’s Susan Einarsson and CentreBC’s Jordan Simmons.
Beare won the riding in 2024 with 14,480 votes, defeating Conservative Mike Morden, who received 11,901 votes. Her 2,579-vote margin gives the NDP an established foothold in the constituency, although the Conservatives are hoping to make gains in the Fraser Valley.
Lisa Beare — BC NDP incumbent
Beare has represented Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows since 2017 and served as minister of education and child care before the election was called. She previously served as a Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows school trustee.
Her campaign is tied to the NDP government’s record on expanding public services, housing construction and affordability measures.
Among the party’s priorities are increasing access to family doctors, expanding health-care services, improving child care affordability, accelerating housing construction and investing in transportation infrastructure.
For local voters, Beare’s re-election campaign also provides an opportunity to assess the government’s record on education, health care and the delivery of services in growing communities.
The NDP is seeking to convince voters that continued investment in public services is preferable to the Conservatives’ proposed changes to taxation and government spending.
Beare has consistently voted with the BC NDP throughout her three terms in the legislature, including supporting the government’s budgets, housing legislation and changes to provincial education policy. She participated in all 105 recorded votes during the 2024–2026 legislature, supporting measures such as the 2026 provincial budget and the 2025 School Amendment Act, which she introduced as education minister to expand school districts’ authority to provide child care on school property.
Doug Morneau — BC Conservatives
Morneau is a former tradesperson, business owner and technology consultant who has lived in Maple Ridge for approximately eight years.
He began his career as a steel fabricator, later worked in mining and business consulting, and served on the board of BC Assessment.
Morneau has made affordability a central theme of his campaign, arguing that younger generations face increasingly difficult prospects for homeownership while seniors struggle with rising expenses.
His stated priorities include improving emergency health care, supporting families raising children with disabilities, expanding addiction recovery services and making housing more affordable.
Morneau has also emphasized his experience with local charitable organizations and community groups, including hospice and addiction recovery initiatives.
He is also campaigning on the Conservative platform, which proposes:
- Raising the provincial basic personal income tax exemption to $32,000, with the party promising approximately $1,000 in annual tax savings for many working residents.
- Reducing construction costs and approval delays for new housing.
- Giving municipalities greater authority over where housing density is located.
- Expanding mental health treatment and recovery services.
- Increasing natural gas production and accelerating resource development.
Susan Einarsson — OneBC
Einarsson is a former journalist, educator and communications professional who operates My Town Maple Ridge News Society.
She has been involved in local political advocacy, particularly concerning homelessness, crime, drug policy and government accountability.
Einarsson is campaigning on a platform that calls for substantial changes to taxation, education, public safety and provincial relations with First Nations.
Her stated priorities include:
- Cutting provincial income tax rates by 25 per cent across tax brackets and reducing the provincial sales tax by two percentage points.
- Eliminating safer-supply and supervised drug consumption programs.
- Restoring standardized testing and removing SOGI-related educational resources from classrooms.
- Expanding private health-care options alongside publicly funded services.
- Reducing government regulations and balancing the provincial budget within four years.
- Repealing B.C.’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, known as DRIPA.
Einarsson argues that government policies have contributed to rising costs, declining public services and uncertainty surrounding private property rights.
Her campaign represents a more explicitly socially conservative alternative to the major parties.
Jordan Simmons — CentreBC
Simmons is a political entrepreneur and former senior adviser to provincial cabinet ministers who has lived in western Maple Ridge for approximately seven years.
He is the co-founder and CEO of Nominee, a platform focused on political leadership development.
Running for CentreBC, Simmons is offering voters a centrist alternative to the NDP and Conservatives, emphasizing a more pragmatic approach to provincial government.
The party’s platform addresses health care, economic development, government accountability, education, public safety, housing and environmental policy.
Simmons’ candidacy gives voters an option outside the two principal contenders, with CentreBC positioning itself around institutional reform and policy-based decision-making rather than traditional partisan divisions.
Maple Ridge East: Conservatives defend one of B.C.’s closest seats
The contest in Maple Ridge East could be particularly competitive after the riding produced one of the narrowest results in the 2024 provincial election.
Conservative Lawrence Mok defeated then-NDP MLA Bob D’Eith by just 97 votes, receiving 12,058 votes to D’Eith’s 11,961. Green candidate Kylee Williams finished third with 1,626 votes.
This time, Mok faces NDP candidate Hudson Campbell, Green candidate Daniel Kite and independent Chris Hatchwell.
The riding covers eastern Maple Ridge communities including Albion, Whonnock, Webster’s Corners and Yennadon, as well as neighbouring areas toward Mission.
Lawrence Mok — BC Conservatives incumbent
Mok is seeking a second term after winning Maple Ridge East for the Conservatives in 2024.
He moved to Maple Ridge from Singapore in 1988 and has more than three decades of experience in the overhead crane industry. He has also served as a part-time preacher.
As the incumbent Conservative, Mok is campaigning under a platform focused on reducing living costs, encouraging private-sector investment, improving public safety and changing provincial housing policies.
The Conservatives are promising income tax relief, faster housing approvals, changes to energy policy and expanded access to mental health and addiction treatment.
Mok’s re-election campaign will test whether the narrow Conservative victory in 2024 reflected a lasting political shift in eastern Maple Ridge or whether the NDP can regain the seat.
First elected in 2024, Mok has largely voted with the Conservative opposition, including opposing the NDP government’s 2026 budget and associated tax measures. He participated in 102 of 105 recorded votes during his first term and supported legislation to repeal B.C.’s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, while joining other MLAs in supporting some bipartisan measures, including amendments to the School Act and motor vehicle legislation.
Hudson Campbell — BC NDP
Campbell is a Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows school trustee, elected in 2022, and previously worked as a constituency adviser to Lisa Beare.
At 24, he brings a younger face to the NDP campaign and has also served as president of the Maple Ridge Climate Hub.
His background in education and environmental advocacy aligns with the NDP’s emphasis on public education, climate policy, affordability and investment in community services.
Campbell is seeking to regain a seat the NDP held before its narrow defeat in 2024.
His candidacy gives the party a locally established candidate with experience in elected office, particularly in education, as it attempts to appeal to families and younger residents concerned about affordability and the future of public services.
Daniel Kite — BC Greens
Kite is a public school teacher, union advocate and Maple Ridge resident who teaches social studies, English and student leadership in School District 42.
He has worked in education internationally and locally, including with Katzie First Nation, and has been involved with the Maple Ridge Teachers’ Association.
Kite is campaigning on a platform emphasizing affordability, stronger public services, workers’ rights and environmentally responsible economic development.
His priorities include:
- Making life more affordable for families.
- Strengthening health care and other essential public services.
- Supporting workers and local communities.
- Developing an energy and industrial strategy that considers environmental and economic impacts.
- Addressing long-term challenges facing families and future generations.
Kite’s campaign offers an alternative for voters seeking stronger environmental commitments alongside investment in education and social services.
Chris Hatchwell — Independent
Hatchwell is running as an independent candidate in Maple Ridge East.
His candidacy has been confirmed by Elections BC, but detailed information about his individual policy commitments was not available in the sources reviewed.
As an independent, Hatchwell is not bound to a registered party’s provincial platform, although his specific priorities would need to be established through his own campaign statements.
