Spurned by Conservatives, former B.C. minister Mike de Jong to run as independent

Former B.C. cabinet minister Mike de Jong was stunned and upset when the federal Conservatives rejected him as a candidate for Abbotsford-South Langley.

Former British Columbia cabinet minister Mike de Jong says he is running as an Independent in the federal election after the Conservative Party of Canada disqualified him as a candidate.

De Jong said he’s still unsure why the party rejected his bid for the nomination in the new riding of Abbotsford-South Langley, but since then he’s been “inundated” with requests to run, even among “long-standing loyal members” of the Conservative party.

“Obviously I was disappointed by the manner in which the Conservative party in Ottawa decided to disqualify me from participation in the candidate selection process in Abbotsford-South Langley,” he said. “I still haven’t received any explanation for why that happened and how it happened.”

De Jong, who won eight terms in the B.C. legislature and held cabinet posts, including finance and forestry, said the decision on the candidate should have been up to the riding association, “not some backroom party hack in Ottawa.”

The candidate selected to run in the riding is Sukhman Gill, a 25-year-old blueberry farmer and businessman.

Gill declined to comment when reached by phone Thursday, saying he’d have to get authorization from the Conservative party to do an interview.

James Barlow, president of the party’s electoral district association in the riding, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

De Jong said in an interview that he knows electoral success is a “long shot” for Independents, but his team believes there’s a “troubling trend” of major Canadian political parties shutting out locals from the candidate selection process.

“The fact that the party manipulated the process to facilitate the appointment of an individual with virtually no experience at anything, who hasn’t demonstrated any capacity to speak effectively on behalf of constituents and the people that he would represent has people very, very upset,” he said.

“It’s a trend that is not unique to the Conservative party.”

He said he still believes the Conservative party should form the next government despite rejecting his candidacy, and he hopes voters are engaged to unite against “a megalomaniac president of the United States.”

“I don’t know how any rational person could support the irrationality of Donald Trump’s behaviour toward Canada and towards the world,” he said.

De Jong said he feels no bitterness toward the party for disqualifying him, and still agrees with the fundamentals of the Conservative platform that calls for lower taxes, a stronger military and other pillars such as improving public safety.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 27, 2025.