Kevin Gillies (Liberal) - Abbotsford—South Langley candidate interview

The Conservative Party’s choice of a candidate in the riding of Abbotsford—South Langley is making the electoral district’s campaign one of the most unpredictable in recent memory.

To give voters a sense of the options available, we asked each of the Abbotsford—South Langley candidates to participate in a virtual interview on local issues. Independent Mike de Jong, Liberal Kevin Gillies, Green Melissa Snazell, and Aeriol Alderking of the People’s Party all took part. Conservative Sukhman Gill and the NDP’s Dharmasena Yakandawela did not participate.

Yakandawela and Gill also refused invitations to attend the Abbotsford Chamber of Commerce’s all-candidates meeting.

Below, you can watch our interview with Gillies or read a transcript.

You can find interviews with the other participating candidates here: Alderking (PPC) | de Jong (Independent) | Snazell (Green)

You can check out our Abbotsford election hub for information on the candidates, the parties involved, where to vote, and other stories of interest.

Kevin Gillies (Liberal)

Transcripts have been lightly edited for concision and clarity. If you spot an error, email us.

FVC: Why are you running in the federal election?

Gillies: You know, I never really thought I'd ever be running for public office, to be honest with you. I've lived in the Fraser Valley for more than 30 years now. I moved here from North Vancouver in the mid-1990s and I really like this community. I love it here. I've decided to stay here and make it my home. As you know, I worked in newspapers here for a couple of decades, and so I was quite familiar with all of the issues and stuff. But what really got to me was when the very aggressive rhetoric out of the White House started with not just the unprovoked trade war, with the tariffs, but the president referring to our Prime Minister as a governor, and the president expressing an interest in annexing Canada. I thought that was not only completely inappropriate, I thought it was hostile. I, for the first time, really called to see how I could help and the next thing you know, I'm the candidate, and I really believe that Mark Carney is the best leader of all the political parties that are running out there to lead Canada against Trump. He's already demonstrated to me that he's got the economics and that he's got the chops to navigate economic crises and to handle a US president, who's rather volatile and unpredictable.

What have the Liberals done for Abbotsford

FVC: The Liberals have been in part power for going on a decade now. Can you point to something that they've done in the Abbotsford—South Langley area that justifies them deserving another four years in power?

Gillies: I don't think of this as an incumbent thing. First of all, I think it would be really wise on the part of this riding to actually vote someone in who's not sitting in opposition. The way you get things done in your community is you elect someone to sit in government, not to sit in opposition. And if the people of Abbotsford—South Langley voted me in as a member of the Mark Carney team, I would now have the ear of government, I would have the ear of the Prime Minister and the Cabinet, and the executive of government. And I don't think there's been a member of government from this riding in more than 10 years. So it doesn't surprise me that this particular riding has has a difficult time trying to recall what that government has done for them; they haven't had a member of that government.

FVC: Should a should a government make its priorities and change its plans depending on which ridings their individual members represent? Isn't a government supposed to represent the entire country and and pursue policies and projects that are good, no matter where its individual MPs are located?

Gillies: I agree. However, does the region have the ear of government if they don't have someone in the government, practically speaking? And that goes on a provincial level, I've seen it there too. But, yeah, you're right, if you don't have the ear of government, they're not going to hear what your concerns are or what you need.

The last thing that was done here by a federal government that, I recall, in terms of a major project, was the lengthening of the Abbotsford airport runway. From what I've heard about, it was chosen over the option of upgrading the railroad bridge over the Fraser River that would have brought the West Coast Express over here. Unfortunately, the the agedness of that bridge reduces the speed that a train can go over that bridge. Had we upgraded that, we would have had the West Coast Express coming over from Mission and going into Chilliwack.

Instead, what they did was they lengthened the runway at the airport in the hopes that it would be able to support larger aircraft. But they only lengthened the runway to the minimum amount that larger aircraft want. An aircraft typically, like an Airbus, would want a longer runway. We can't get a longer runway at the Abbotsford airport without altering Clearbrook Road. So that's the last major federal project that that came into the Abbotsford—South Langley riding that I'm aware of.

FVC: There's the Vye Road interchange, there's been a few others, but doesn't your argument fall flat if the Conservative government gets elected and locals choose a Conservative MP?

Gillies: If that happens, then yeah, you're right. But I'm just going on the right now, it's starting to look to me like it's going to be a Mark Carney government, and I'm confident it will actually. You're right, if there is a Conservative member elected, and again, that whole lengthening of the runway was done more than 10 years ago when it was a Conservative government.

FVC: But you’re kind of begging the question, saying people should vote for a Liberal MP, because other people will vote for a Liberal MP, so people should vote for us? Doesn't the Liberal government have to do something to actually justify that first step of somebody voting for them?

Gillies: Well, the reason I'm suggesting people vote for a Liberal government is not because there was some project that was done some time ago that they really should recall. I'm suggesting they do it because the main issue in this riding is, you know, the Abbotsford News just ran a story that said this area has lost 700 jobs in the last month because of the uncertainty created by the trade war and and the uncertainty of tariffs, and that is the number one issue in this riding, and the best way to to address that is to have a government that is best suited to handle Donald Trump and actually build up the Canadian economy to create help create jobs.

Sumas Prairie and the Nooksack River

FVC: The other major issue, especially when it comes to federal jurisdiction in the riding, would be the flooding in Sumas Prairie and the request from Abbotsford for funding to build a new pump station and new dikes to better protect the prairie in the event of a future Nooksack River flood. The Liberals rejected Abbotsford’s request for funding. Do you support that decision? And if not, and if you would advocate for it, do you have the political experience necessary to actually turn that advocacy into actual action?

Gillies: As I said, I've never run for political office before, so that that should answer the whole experience question. But yeah, I do believe that the federal government should come forward with funding to upgrade and update the pump station, and I also believe that they should build up diking systems or whatever infrastructure is needed to help alleviate any potential future flood. But that river is in the US. We need to negotiate with the Americans on that and we need them to put in money as well.

So yes, I would advocate on behalf of this riding for that money and for that investment and based on what I've seen of the Liberal platform, the Mark Carney government is interested in updating infrastructure and and major flood mitigation projects like this. So whether I've been a politician long enough to appropriately ask the question, I think is irrelevant. The fact that I was elected as the representative would be relevant if, again, it is a Mark Carney government, and if it is a Liberal representative from this area.

FVC: Why would it be relevant if you were just to be elected, why would that change the government's priorities?

Gillies: Because members of a government, which means the elected Members of Parliament, have the ear of the executive branch of government. Members of Parliament who sit in opposition do not have the ear of government and whether you like that or not, it's accurate and it's fair, like I said, at a provincial level, even at a municipal level as well— but provincial level and the federal level. You're right, opposition MPs can make as much noise as they want and pursue funding from a government. And in my view, the federal government, of the past, Liberal federal government, should have funded flood mitigation here in the Fraser Valley. And I aim to pursue that. I really do.

FVC: I guess what I'm saying is, when you say ‘the ear of government’ isn’t there some action on your part that needs to take place to actually turn that opportunity into actual action or or policy or project?

Gillies: I'm not sure what you're saying [Editors note: the phrasing of the question, which has been cleaned up above for clarity’s sake, was quite muddled in the moment] but I think what you mean is you're questioning whether I'm accurate when I say that a Member of Parliament who's part of government is going to be able to message the executive branch of government better than a Member of Parliament who's not part of the government.

FVC: There have been Liberal MPs before, well in Mission-Matsqui-Abbotsford, there was within the last decade. And the amount of funding any one project gets is not just totally dependent on the individual MP or their existence, but how they make that argument with their colleagues in caucus.

Gillies: Right. I don't think that the government is done with the flood mitigation issue. I don't think it's over and just because it hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it isn't going to happen. And I think the strongest probability of accelerating that is if you actually have a Liberal representative who's part of a Liberal government, or having, conversely, a Conservative Member of Parliament who's part of a Conservative government, or having a Green candidate who's part of a Green Party government. That's the way the Canadian parliamentary system works. And all I'm trying to do is be part of it for the community I live in, because I really want to push this community's issues in Ottawa. There hasn't been anybody doing that for 10 years, really, with the exception of people on the other side of the aisle.

Should Canadians boycott American products

FVC: I've asked every other candidate this, do you think Canadians should boycott American products?

Gillies: I do, but I don't. I do myself. When I go to the grocery store, I'm looking at Canadian stuff, you know? I'm trying really hard not to go to Walmart. I'm trying really hard not to go to Home Depot—two places I used to frequent all the time, but I haven't been in a while.

I am a guy who used to go down to the States all the time. For 10 years, I had Seattle Seahawks season tickets. I love going to Seattle. I love going down to Bellingham. So yeah, I'm not going there. I did travel in March, but I went to Mexico. It's not just boycotting American products. There's a part of me that doesn't want to go to the States, because I think they're just treating Canadians different now. And it was that way when Trump was in his first administration. You just didn't feel as welcome. And not so much by the people of America, but by the border agents, and the people that were questioning you at the border.

Healthcare problems

FVC: To health care, the Canadian healthcare system is in a problematic way right now, I think we can agree. Why should voters not hold the Liberals responsible for for the state of health care and what will the government do differently? Or, why should people not hold the Liberals responsible for where we are as a country in terms of health care?

Gillies: Well, the healthcare system is—you know, I have been in provincial government, and [health care] is funded by provincial government, and when I was working in the legislature, I saw that the the health care portion of the budget was—back then, I'm talking in 2003—health care took up 45% of a $44, $45 billion budget, and the costs were going up.

If inflation goes up, the cost of health care goes up and if you don't increase your funding to the health care system, it's like cutting because the cost of everything's going up. So services are getting cut. It's really a product of revenue, government revenue, and building up an economy is going to build government revenue. I think that we need more funding for health care. I think we need more doctors in health care. My honest hope is that doctors start fleeing out of America and start coming here. But we need to build more hospitals, and I think we need to build more clinics, and it's part of the Liberal platform to do that. It'll cost in the short term, but in the long term, I think it will improve health care, and it'll make doctors and nurses want to stay here.

Housing supply

FVC: Similarly, on the housing front, housing is a lot more expensive than when the Liberals took power. I spoke to a former Liberal MP about this and he talked about everything that's been done the last two years. What confidence can Canadians have that the Liberals really get it this time? That housing is actually a priority and not something that they're saying is a priority and that they'll actually stick to their commitment on those housing promises?

Gillies: I've been working as a realtor or real estate agent the last five years. So I'm relatively new, but I also work as a casual going into homeless shelters and stuff. So I'm working on both ends of the spectrum of the housing issue. I've seen it many times where a young family comes in and puts an offer in on a home and and they have high hopes that they're going to be buying that house, only to have them dashed, because somebody can afford to put $50,000 more on their bid than the young family. The problem is that we need more supply. We need a lot more houses. And Carney's talked about bringing in a post-World War Two-type thing where the government actually gets in the business of building houses, you know, where it's prefabricated housing, like the housing that was in North Van after post-World War Two; I think a lot of it's in Vernon now, isn't it? The houses from North van were moved up to Vernon?

But I think that's the way we're going to go, and I have every confidence that Mark Carney's the best guy to do that. I don't have confidence in anyone else that's talking about housing. I don't think there's anyone—well, I don’t think Poilievre has ever held a job outside of working in politics. Carney, at least, understands the economics of it.

I have no doubt we need more housing. My cousin is a real estate agent as well, and she works in New England, and they have the exact same problems there that we have here: not enough housing, too high a cost. The other thing that's a big part of this is the once-in-a-century pandemic. It's kind of like a boat in the water. You know, the boat might only be 40 feet long, but the wake behind it is 120 or 180 feet long. And many of the economic pressures that we've endured in this country have also occurred in other countries, America, in Europe. It started off with high unemployment because businesses were shut down and and then inflation and supply chains and high interest rates. And it seems to be smoothing out now, but I'm quite confident that if the government builds more housing, and the economy gets into a better situation, that housing prices will come down. But for now, we're doing our best with high cost of housing. And like I said, it's not just here, it's all over North America.

FVC: As a government, how do you incentivize the private sector in building housing? Because, you’re a realtor, you know that the vast, vast, vast majority of housing is not public housing, it's private housing. The vast majority of housing that gets built is private-sector housing. How do you actually incentivize that while creating rules to having the government play a role in that? Those can sometimes be contrasting approaches.

Gillies: By financing infrastructure and developing infrastructure, and the Carney plan is to to build kind of fund first and last. So the government starts the first mile and the last mile. But you put the infrastructure in place make it easier for developers. You also leverage, I guess, with taxation structures to incentivize the private sector and to incentivize investment. And, yeah, that's, that's the Kearney plan is, is build up the infrastructure to, to build, you know, Housing and Economic corridors, and the, of course, reduce the trade barriers between the province to to improve the economy.

Personal experience

FVC: Being an MP is more than just being part of government, it's about leveraging the powers that you have, either as a high-ranking person or somebody who just knows their way around the halls of Parliament, or even other people in Ottawa. Why should people be confident that you'll have the experience or be able to develop the experience quickly needed to act for your constituents?

Gillies: Well, strangely enough, Tyler, this riding—for the first time in decades—is getting a lot of attention, silly amounts of attention. I was interviewed by the Economist. Right? When does that happen? So I think that if I'm sent to Ottawa as a Member of Parliament from the Liberal Party, I have every confidence that people in the party are paying attention. Not only are they already paying attention, the people in the party are also eager to help this campaign. And I suspect that if I was sent to Ottawa as the representative of Abbotsford—South Langley, the party would be quite happy to help me make this a successful venture that the people of Abbotsford—South Langley see, or pay attention to.

So I think I would be able to go to Ottawa and convince people in government that this region needs the government's attention, especially around the issue of the flood mitigation, especially about upgrades to the pump station. And also, you know, commuter rail would be great out here. I think I would be able to convince the government because it all fits into the Liberal Party platform, and it would be able to show that this government is not only sticking to what it promised in the election, but it would also be doing something to try and win over, in a big way, the people of this riding.

FVC: And finally, related to that, what about if you're elected and—it can happen—there's a Conservative government in power?

Gillies: Well, then I'm just going to have to do what I can to hold that government's feet to the fire. I'm not a fan of the Conservative leader. I really take strong issue with his constant, incessant whining and ‘Canada's broken.’ I call him Chicken Little: ‘The sky is falling. The sky is falling.’ I would have to hold his feet to the fire.

I really hadn't considered that option much, but I guess I should. I’ve got to be honest with you: I think that's the least likely of scenarios, because it's two long shots. I really think that I'm the underdog in this riding. You know, the two other candidates have a lot going for them and and I have to fight against that longstanding tradition. They both have long standing traditions in this writing, and I'm trying to convince folks in this town to see a different way. You're absolutely correct that this riding, having a Liberal representative in a Conservative majority government would be a real long shot, but if I was in opposition, I would hold their their feet to the fire and again, try to bring this region's issues to the government's attention to the best of my ability as an opposition MP.

The interview concluded.

You can find interviews with the other participating candidates here: Alderking (PPC) | de Jong (Independent) | Snazell (Green)