Kerry-Lynne Findlay hits the campaign trail in Abbotsford–Mission byelection

A high-stakes byelection is now in full swing in the Fraser Valley, where Kerry-Lynne Findlay hopes to claim a seat in the legislature.

A high-stakes byelection race is underway in the Fraser Valley, where B.C. Conservative Leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay is working hard to connect with voters.

While her name and face are familiar to those who follow provincial news and politics, Findlay says not everyone in the Abbotsford–Mission riding she hopes to represent recognizes her on the campaign trail.

“It’s a mix,” she said. “I have people who smile and wave at me or (give a thumbs up).”

Findlay does not live in the riding, so she’s been busy pounding the pavement this week to try to make sure voters see her out and about in their neighbourhoods.

The Conservative leader told CTV News she views Abbotsford–Mission as “a microcosm” of the province as a whole.

“All the issues are the same, really, but there’s always a local twist,” she said.

Mission is a bedroom community, and Findlay said she wants to bolster the local economy so people have the option of working closer to home.

She has strong views on issues ranging from resource development to supervised consumption sites.

She’s also facing three challengers—the NDP’s Pam Alexis, the B.C. Greens’ Stephen Fowler and CentreBC’s Lakhwinder Jhaj—who are emphasizing their personal ties to the riding.

Alexis has also been hammering Findlay on the raft of departures from her party, which has lost nine MLAs since she became leader.

Asked Friday whether she feels “the bleeding has stopped” within the party, Findlay said she would be the last person to know about further departures.

“That has been the case so far,” she said. “But this is a young party. It’s had growing pains, there’s no doubt about that.”

While critics describe Findlay’s views as extreme and say she’s pushed the Conservatives further to the right, she sees herself as an advocate aiming to continue her work as a family lawyer in the legislature.

“It is the other side of the same coin,” Findlay said. “When you apply the law in one, you’re trying to develop public policy to create the law or amend the law to make it more fair and equitable.”

On Sept. 26, she’ll find out whether voters want her to do that work on their behalf.

With files from CTV News Vancouver’s Penny Daflos