Five of six candidates faced the public and answered questions at an all-candidates meeting for the upcoming byelection in the riding of Cloverdale-Langley City Dec. 2.

However, Conservative candidate Tamara Jansen was a no show. Byelection candidates Ian Kennedy (PPC), Vanessa Sharma (NDP), Alex Joehl (Libertarian), Madison Fleischer (Liberal), and Pat McCutcheon (Greens) all showed up to the meeting held at 5 Star Catering.

The Q&A was organized by the Cloverdale District Chamber of Commerce and the 性视界传媒 Board of Trade (SBOT). 

Scott Wheatley, the Cloverdale Chamber鈥檚 executive director, said he didn鈥檛 know the exact reason Jansen didn't attend.

Wheatley told the Cloverdale Reporter all he heard from her camp was that 鈥渟he had other election-related commitments.鈥�

Green Party candidate Pat McCutcheon said he thought the all candidate鈥檚 meeting went well for him. He said he thought the audience responded well to Green Party platform points that he shared. He said the most important thing is to tackle climate change.

鈥淏oth the Liberals and Conservatives support oil and gas,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a sunset industry and experts around the world are telling us it will be in decline within 10 years. And the future is the green energy sector and we鈥檙e not embracing it at all. But we need to.鈥�

McCutcheon also had sharp words for Jansen. He said he knew Jansen wouldn't be there and said it was the same strategy the provincial Conservatives employed during the last election. He said several Conservative candidates didn't show up to all candidate meetings across the province鈥攖hough he did not reference which candidates.

"It seems to be a pattern and it's now repeating itself at the federal level,鈥� McCutcheon said. "I think the takeaway that voters should be considering is that when a Conservative candidate doesn't show up for an all candidates meeting, it's highly unlikely that they're going to show up for you as a representative in your constituency."

Alex Joehl, Libertarian Party of Canada candidate, said he was there to get his message out. He realizes that no libertarians have ever won a seat in Parliament, so his mission is more to educate than anything. He added that even though he knew the questions going in, he thought he could have prepared himself a lot better.

"I got my points across,鈥� he noted. 鈥淭he key issues鈥攖hings that weren't brought up by the Chamber鈥擨 was able to touch on."

Those points were things like his take on fractional banking and eliminating income tax on both workers and businesses.

"I'm pretty happy there were five of the six candidates here,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t was nice to meet Ian (Kennedy) for the first time. It's nice to have a PPC candidate here that I can springboard off of. I'm even more radical than him. But it's too bad Tamara Jansen wasn't here.鈥�

Joehl said he doesn't blame her for not coming.

鈥淪he has absolutely nothing to gain from this (meeting), but it's still disappointing. I wish she was here, just as a service to the community."

Kennedy was unhappy with his answers during the Q&A.

鈥淭hings went okay but I could have presented myself better,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here's lots of little things I could have done better, but here we are.鈥�

He said he didn't have much time to prepare as it's difficult to run a campaign full time and to work full time. But he added he really feels this byelection is a trial run for the next general election, which will likely occur by next October.

In the 2021 general election some pundits said Kennedy siphoned enough votes off Jansen to give Liberal candidate John Aldag his second win in the riding. Kennedy received 4.8 per cent of the vote, garnering 2,563 votes, while Aldag beat Jansen by only 1,654 votes.

"Time will tell if I can play a role like that again. I could but I don't know,鈥� Kennedy noted. 鈥淎 million things can happen, but I believe people voted for John Aldag as a person, not because of his party. And I can learn from that. I want to put a good foot forward for the next general election, so I'm just looking to learn from this byelection."

NDP candidate Vanessa Sharma said she thought she answered her questions well and that the audience was receptive to her messaging.

"I think I did a good job and I think I connected with a lot of folks," Sharma said. "My goal is not to become a career politician. I'm running to make a difference."

Sharma used to live in the riding, but was forced to move to Chilliwack because she couldn't afford the rents in 性视界传媒 anymore. 

鈥淚'm 25, and if the world is so tough right now, what's going to happen to my nephews and nieces when they get older? They're 5 and 10. They鈥檙e not going to have an affordable world to live in. So I'm running to fix it.鈥�

Sharma noted she's been doing a lot of door knocking in the electoral district and said she's been connecting with a lot of residents. She said she's been shaken by hearing how much people are struggling. She explained that she鈥檚 talked to dual income families with good jobs and high incomes that are on the verge of losing their homes.

"People are struggling more than I think people realize they are,鈥� she noted.

Fleischer thought the ACM was very positive and offered her an opportunity to chat with voters. She said she was able to connect with many after the Q&A session and heards about the struggles facing small business owners.

"Candidate forums are an important way for constituents to hear directly from the candidates about their priorities for our community," she told the Reporter via email. "It鈥檚 unfortunate that Pierre Poilievre鈥檚 Conservative candidate, Tamara Jansen, didn鈥檛 bother to show up. This speaks volumes when you fail to show up for your constituents before you even take office."

Fleischer added she'll "work with the Liberal team to make life more affordable, support our Seniors, strengthen our public health care system, build a safer community, and grow an economy that works for everyone here in Cloverdale鈥擫angley City."

The Reporter reached out to Jansen for comment, noting our press deadline, but she did not respond to our request, or acknowledge our email, by press time. If she responds, her comments will be added in here too.

The electoral district of Cloverdale-Langley City is about 60 per cent Cloverdale, about 25 per cent Langley, and about 12 per cent Newton. The riding is about 60 square kilometres in size with a population of more than 130,000. As of Nov. 10, there were 88,348 people on the electors list.

The riding has been without an MP since John Aldag resigned earlier this year to run in a failed bid to win a seat for the B.C. NDP in the provincial election. (He ran in the riding of Langley-Abbotsford and lost to provincial Conservative Harman Bhangu by more than 5,600 votes.)

A video of the ACM is available .

For info on how to vote, where to register, or anything else about the byelection, visit .