Langara College, Vancouver-Langara · Photo: Underbar dk, CC BY-SA 4.0
EDITORIAL · VANCOUVER-LANGARA · THE RACE
Vancouver-Langara was decided by 419 votes. Now it chooses on the cost of living: Jaime Stein or Sunita Dhir.
Vancouver-Langara was decided by 419 votes in 2024, and 338Canada projects it leaning Conservative this time. Jaime Stein, the Conservative candidate, grew up in Vancouver and is running on a government that respects families’ money, health care that works and safe streets. Sunita Dhir, the BC NDP incumbent and Parliamentary Secretary for International Credentials, ran on housing, affordability and health care. Here is how they compare, and where we come down.
VANCOUVER-LANGARA · LEANING CONSERVATIVE
Jaime SteinConservative candidate
Sunita DhirBC NDP · incumbentFour hundred and nineteen votes. That was the gap in Vancouver-Langara in 2024, when Sunita Dhir, the BC NDP candidate, held off the Conservative, Bryan Breguet, by 8,506 votes to 8,087. If 210 of her voters had chosen differently, the seat would have changed hands.1
The riding covers Marpole, Oakridge, Sunset and the blocks around Langara College in south-central Vancouver.1 This time the Conservative candidate is Jaime Stein, who was born and raised in Vancouver. After his father died of leukemia, he worked on the national campaign that raised $12.5 million for Canada’s first public cord blood bank. He is running on the cost of living, health care and safe streets.23 Dhir, now the MLA and the province’s Parliamentary Secretary for International Credentials, is running again.4
01 Where they stand: Jaime Stein and Sunita Dhir on the cost of living, health care and safety, in their own words.
Both candidates have said what they are running on. Here they are side by side, in their own words or their party’s, before we say where we come down.
Jaime SteinConservative
Sunita DhirBC NDP · incumbent
Cost of living
“Families here deserve a government that respects their money.”3
She ran in 2024 on “stabilizing the housing market, improving affordability, and strengthening our healthcare system.” Her party’s pledge: “Lowering everyday costs – Not giving the rich tax breaks.”15
Health care
“Health care that works when they need it.” After his father died of leukemia, he helped raise $12.5 million for Canada’s first public cord blood bank.32
“The BC NDP has committed to expanding access to Louis Brier, B.C.’s Jewish long term care home.”6
Safety
“Streets that feel safe.” In 2025: “I think the biggest issue, number one, is crime and safety.”37
Her party’s pledge: “Safe, inclusive communities – Not ignoring gun laws and cutting victim services.”5
Newcomers’ credentials
We found no stated position from Stein on credential recognition.
Her work, in her party’s words: making sure “internationally trained professionals have their skills and experience recognized so they can get a job in the field they’ve trained for.” The ban on Canadian work-experience requirements took effect on 1 July 2025, during her term.58
02 Jaime Stein grew up in Vancouver, lost his father to leukemia, and helped raise $12.5 million so other families would have better odds.
Jaime Stein is the Conservative Party of BC candidate in Vancouver-Langara.9 He has never held office. His record is his work and his community service, and what he has said under his own name.
Jaime Stein
Conservative Party of BC candidate, Vancouver-Langara
- Home
- Born and raised in Vancouver; Point Grey Secondary; raising three children here
- Work
- Director for Western Canada, Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center
- Before
- Two decades in broadcasting and technology, including Hootsuite
- Health
- Canadian Blood Services cord blood campaign; vice chair of an Alzheimer’s research charity
- Honour
- King Charles III Coronation Medal, 2025
Portrait: Conservative Party of BC
Stein was born and raised in Vancouver and lives here with his wife, Jessica, and their three children. His father, Howard Stein, died of leukemia in 2006 after a search for a matching stem cell donor. In the years after, Stein worked with Canadian Blood Services on the national campaign that raised $12.5 million to establish Canada’s first public cord blood bank. He has since served as vice chair of CLEAR, which funds Alzheimer’s and dementia research in B.C.27
He spent two decades in broadcasting and technology, from the radio booth of the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts to senior roles at Hootsuite, BroadbandTV and Taplytics. Today he is Director for Western Canada at the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center, where he delivers Holocaust education and antisemitism training to front-line professionals and works with police forces, health authorities and governments.2
He told voters why he is running when he launched his campaign:3
“I’m running because families here deserve a government that respects their money, health care that works when they need it, and streets that feel safe.”
He has made the same case before. Running for Vancouver city council in 2025, he said the issue he heard most at the door was “crime and safety,” and the next was “making Vancouver open for business again,” which he said meant “reducing red tape for businesses.”7 He finished sixth in that by-election. He also faced threats on social media and vandalism of his signs during the campaign, which the mayor called “heartbreaking” for him and his family.10 This is not his first run in this riding: in 2024 he was BC United’s nominee here, until that party folded its campaign and endorsed the Conservatives.7
03 Sunita Dhir answered three comments on her campaign posts. Two were thank-yous, and the third asked a critic if they were a bot.
On 23 September 2026, early in the campaign, Dhir’s Facebook page posted a short video. Two people left comments that drew an answer from her. One said they were praying for her win, and she wrote back: “thank you so much!” The other said British Columbia could not afford the NDP.11
Dhir tagged that commenter by name and wrote four words.11
The comment she was answering, in our words:British Columbia cannot afford the NDP.
[name] are you a bot?
open the video · the commenter’s name is withheld
Her reply, as written. We paraphrase the comment and leave out the commenter’s name.11
In a seat decided by 419 votes, a voter worried about the cost of living is not a bot. In our view, that voter is the election.
Sunita Dhir
BC NDP MLA for Vancouver-Langara since 2024, running again
- In government
- Parliamentary Secretary for International Credentials since November 2024
- Before
- Language instructor at SUCCESS, helping newcomers learn English
- 2024 margin
- 419 votes
- Replies
- 3 answers to the 127 comments we read under 23 of her posts
Portrait: BC NDP
We read 127 comments under 23 of her Facebook and Instagram posts. We found three replies from her. Two thanked supporters: “thank you so much for your kind words and trust in me,” and “thank you so much!” The third was the one above.1112
On X her most-discussed campaign post, of 11 October, announced a BC NDP promise on long-term care. It drew 53 replies. Of the 31 we could load, none was from her.612
We looked at every sitting BC NDP MLA’s campaign accounts and rated them on four measures. Dhir passed two: she posted during the campaign, and she wrote most of her posts herself. She failed the two that matter most to a voter. Replies were limited on most of her Instagram posts, and she never answered a critic or a question with substance. That earns her an F.12
04 She asks voters to make their voices heard. On Instagram she limited comments on 25 of her 29 campaign posts.
On 17 October, after casting her own ballot, Dhir posted to Instagram. “I hope you’ll get out and make your voice heard too!” she wrote. Under the post, Instagram showed its notice: “Comments on this post have been limited.”13
I voted! There’s something special about getting to cast your own ballot after spending so many weeks talking with our neighbours across Vancouver–Langara. Advance voting is open now. I hope you’ll get out and make your voice heard too!
17 October 2026 · open the post
Comments on this post have been limited. The notice Instagram shows under the post.
The post as Instagram showed it on 17 October 2026, with the notice at the foot.13
It was not one post. On Instagram, 25 of the 29 campaign posts we read carried that notice, from 22 September to 17 October. Her Facebook page and her X account were open. Across the three platforms, 25 of her 65 campaign posts were restricted.13 She is one of many in her party who do this, as we set out in our account of how the BC NDP shut voters out of its candidates’ posts.13
To be fair to her, Dhir does listen in person. When she visited MOSAIC, a newcomer settlement agency, in July 2025, its staff wrote that she “listened attentively as clients shared their stories and challenges.”8 In our view, listening to guests in a meeting room is not the same as letting the public answer you, and it is not the same as answering them.
05 Her job in government is credential recognition. The agency that briefed her said newcomers still wait too long.
Dhir has spent this Parliament as Parliamentary Secretary for International Credentials, the role that helps carry out the International Credentials Recognition Act for people trained abroad.414 She knows the subject. For nearly two decades she taught English to newcomers at SUCCESS, the settlement agency.5
In July 2025 the Immigrant Services Society of BC handed her a written briefing on how the law was working. It credited the Act with a shared standard and a new oversight framework. It also said:15
“Internationally trained applicants continue to face disproportionately long wait times, inconsistent communication, and unclear appeals processes.”
The same briefing noted that the reports regulators must file on timelines and outcomes “are not public.” It said assessment fees of $300 to $400 drive some newcomers to “delay or abandon the process,” and that there were “currently no consistent fee waivers or equity measures in place.”15 The government’s own release on the office’s first annual report spoke of “progress,” much of it in getting regulators ready for the new law.14
The college the riding is named for felt the other side of the newcomer file. Langara College told staff in March 2025 that it had cut 31 administrative positions after “a sharp reduction in international student enrolment from abrupt changes in federal and provincial policy,” and that it expected a $13-million deficit. The faculty association said more than 200 of its members had lost work.16
In our view, a parliamentary secretary’s job is to carry exactly these complaints into government and come back with answers. On her own posts, the one critic she answered was asked whether they were a bot.
06 On money, on listening and on answering, Sunita Dhir and Jaime Stein point in opposite directions.
Told that B.C. cannot afford the NDP, she replied: “are you a bot?”11
“families here deserve a government that respects their money”3
“I hope you’ll get out and make your voice heard too!” Comments limited on 25 of her 29 Instagram campaign posts.13
“See you at the door,” he wrote when he launched his campaign.3
The briefing she received said newcomers “continue to face disproportionately long wait times.”15
His campaign says “government should be judged on results.”2
In our view, Langara’s choice is between an MLA who treats a cost-of-living complaint as spam and a candidate who has built his campaign on that complaint. Stein has no government record to run on. What he has is a life of showing up for his city, his community and families facing the worst news of their lives, and a plain promise about money, health care and safety.
07 Vancouver-Langara was decided by 419 votes, and 338Canada now projects it leaning Conservative.
338Canada, which turns the published polls into a projection for every riding, rates Vancouver-Langara as leaning Conservative. Its update of 16 October puts the Conservatives at 46% and the BC NDP at 43%, each with a margin of eight points either way. That is a lean, not a lock.17
Vancouver-Langara, projected vote
338Canada, update of 16 October 2026. Bars show the projection; the thin lines show its margin either way.17
0%30%60%
John Atoyebi, the BC Green candidate, is projected at 7%, and Alan Beesley of CentreBC at 3%.179 Only Stein is within reach of Dhir.
In 2024 the gap was 419 votes, so 210 voters switching would have flipped the seat.1 In our view, Stein is the stronger choice for Langara, and the projection puts him within reach.
08 Four hundred and nineteen votes decided Vancouver-Langara last time. On 24 October, Langara decides again.
Elections BC’s advance voting runs from 16 to 21 October, and Final Voting Day is 24 October.18
Back in September a commenter under Dhir’s video said British Columbia could not afford the NDP, and the MLA asked whether they were a bot.11 Stein has put that same worry at the centre of his campaign: a government that respects your money.3 In a riding decided by 419 votes, in our view, the candidate who takes the question seriously deserves the seat.
419 votes last time. In our view, Vancouver-Langara should send Jaime Stein to Victoria.
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Sunita Dhir held Vancouver-Langara by 419 votes in 2024. This time she faces Jaime Stein, who is running on the cost of living.
Sunita Dhir, the BC NDP MLA and Parliamentary Secretary for International Credentials, replied to three of the 127 comments we read under her campaign posts. Told that B.C. cannot afford the NDP, she answered: “are you a bot?” On Instagram she limited comments on 25 of her 29 campaign posts.
Jaime Stein, the Conservative candidate, was born and raised in Vancouver. After his father died of leukemia, he helped raise $12.5 million for Canada’s first public cord blood bank.
338Canada projects the seat leaning Conservative, 46% to 43%. In our view, Jaime Stein is the stronger choice for Langara.
Advance voting runs until 21 October, and Final Voting Day is 24 October.
🔗 backcountry.cx/editorials/swing-vancouver-langara/
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Sources
- ↩ Wikipedia, “Vancouver-Langara,” read 18 October 2026, and the riding’s 2024 result from Elections BC: Sunita Dhir (BC NDP) 8,506 votes, 48.43%; Bryan Breguet (Conservative) 8,087, 46.05%; Scottford Price (Green) 969, 5.52%; 17,562 valid votes. Wikipedia’s page on Dhir records the 419-vote margin and that her decision to run was influenced by her commitment to “stabilizing the housing market, improving affordability, and strengthening our healthcare system,” citing her Instagram. wikipedia.org · wikipedia.org
- ↩ Conservative Party of BC, candidate page “Jaime Stein,” read 18 October 2026: his family, Point Grey Secondary, his father’s death from leukemia in 2006, the $12.5-million cord blood bank campaign, CLEAR, the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center, his broadcasting and technology career, the Coronation Medal, and “government should be judged on results.” Portrait from this page. conservativebc.ca
- ↩ Jaime Stein on X, post 2103652814472036507, 25 September 2026 (Pacific time): “It’s official. I’m the BC Conservative candidate in Vancouver-Langara… I’m running because families here deserve a government that respects their money, health care that works when they need it, and streets that feel safe… See you at the door.” x.com
- ↩ Province of British Columbia, “Sunita Dhir, MLA, Parliamentary Secretary for International Credentials,” read 18 October 2026: “Sunita was appointed Parliamentary Secretary for International Credentials in November 2024”; formerly “a language instructor at SUCCESS.” gov.bc.ca
- ↩ BC NDP, candidate page “Sunita Dhir,” read 18 October 2026: “for nearly two decades, with SUCCESS, she supported newcomers in learning English and building lives in British Columbia”; her work to make sure “internationally trained professionals have their skills and experience recognized so they can get a job in the field they’ve trained for”; and the party pledges listed on it, including “Lowering everyday costs – Not giving the rich tax breaks” and “Safe, inclusive communities – Not ignoring gun laws and cutting victim services.” Portrait from the party. sunitadhir.bcndp.ca
- ↩ Sunita Dhir on X, 11 October 2026, post 2109361577661182072: “The BC NDP has committed to expanding access to Louis Brier, B.C.’s Jewish long term care home.” Reply count 53 as reported by X; 31 replies loaded on 17 October 2026, none from her account. x.com
- ↩ Jewish Independent, 28 March 2025, “Stein running for city council”: the April 2025 Vancouver council by-election; his quotations on “crime and safety” and “making Vancouver open for business again”; his father, Howard Stein; and that in 2024 he “was nominated as the BC United candidate in Vancouver-Langara, but did not run in the provincial election after the party folded its campaign and endorsed the BC Conservatives.” jewishindependent.ca
- ↩ MOSAIC, “Parliamentary Secretary Sunita Dhir Visits MOSAIC to Hear from Newcomers Affected by Credential Barriers,” on her visit of 11 July 2025: “Parliamentary Secretary Sunita Dhir listened attentively as clients shared their stories and challenges”; and the Act’s provision prohibiting Canadian work experience requirements “taking effect one year later, on July 1, 2025.” mosaicbc.org
- ↩ Elections BC, 2026 Provincial General Election candidates (CSV), fetched 18 October 2026. Vancouver-Langara: John Atoyebi (BC Green Party), Alan Beesley (CentreBC), Sunita Dhir (BC NDP), Jaime Stein (Conservative Party). elections.bc.ca
- ↩ Global News, 8 April 2025, on the Vancouver council by-election: Stein “finished sixth in the race for two vacant council seats”; his account of “the threats I received on social media and the vandalism that happened to our signs”; and Mayor Ken Sim, who called it “heartbreaking” for the candidate, his family and the Jewish community. globalnews.ca
- ↩ Backcountry Coalition’s reading of the comments under Sunita Dhir’s campaign posts on her own accounts, 17 and 18 October 2026: her three replies, each with its post, date and our paraphrase of the comment she answered. Facebook video 1063190619892120 of 23 September 2026: to a commenter who said British Columbia cannot afford the NDP, “[name] are you a bot?”; to a commenter who said they prayed for her win, “[name] thank you so much!” Facebook video 2170125353538107 of 30 September 2026: “[name] thank you so much for your kind words and trust in me.” Commenters’ names are withheld. facebook.com
- ↩ Backcountry Coalition’s review of the campaign accounts of every sitting BC NDP MLA, data as of 18 October 2026. Sunita Dhir: posted during the campaign on X, Facebook and Instagram (pass); wrote 59 of 91 campaign items herself (pass); replies limited on 25 of 29 Instagram posts (fail); “Replied 3 times (to supporters 2, brush-offs to critics 1), never answering a critic or a question with substance”; 127 comments read under 23 Facebook and Instagram posts (fail). Overall grade: F.
- ↩ Backcountry Coalition, “The BC NDP say they’re listening and want your vote,” 18 October 2026, and its data, read on her own accounts on 17 October 2026: Sunita Dhir, Instagram 25 of 29 campaign posts carrying “Comments on this post have been limited,” dated 22 September to 17 October; Facebook 0 of 33; X 0 of 3; 25 of 65 across all three. Her Instagram post of 17 October 2026 is quoted and shown. backcountry.cx · instagram.com
- ↩ Province of British Columbia, news release 2025PSFS0005, on the first annual report of the Office for International Credential Recognition: the Act “took effect on July 1, 2024” and covers 29 regulated fields; the report “is showing progress”; “the office has made progress by continually engaging with regulatory authorities and helping them transition to the new law.” news.gov.bc.ca
- ↩ Immigrant Services Society of BC, “International Credential Recognition Act (ICRA) Briefing — July 10th, 2025,” addressed to Sunita Dhir, MLA, Parliamentary Secretary for International Credentials: “While these reports are not public”; “Internationally trained applicants continue to face disproportionately long wait times, inconsistent communication, and unclear appeals processes”; fees “typically $300-$400”; “There are currently no consistent fee waivers or equity measures in place, and some applicants delay or abandon the process because of the cost.” issbc.org (PDF)
- ↩ The Langara Voice, March 2025, “Langara cuts 31 administration positions in latest layoff announcement”: the college’s deficit “due to a sharp reduction in international student enrolment from abrupt changes in federal and provincial policy”; an expected $13-million deficit for the coming year; and the faculty association’s statement that “more than 200 faculty members have lost work.” The college has not confirmed the faculty association’s figure. langaravoice.ca
- ↩ 338Canada, “Vancouver-Langara,” latest update 16 October 2026, read 18 October 2026: rated “CPBC leaning”; projected vote Conservatives 46% ± 8%, BC NDP 43% ± 8%, BC Greens 7% ± 4%, CentreBC 3% ± 4%. It is a projection based on polls, not a poll. 338canada.com
- ↩ Elections BC, “2026 Provincial Election,” read 17 October 2026: “Final Voting Day is October 24, 2026”; advance voting October 16 to 21, 2026; and the Where to Vote application. elections.bc.ca
Sources were read on 17 and 18 October 2026. Quotations are exact as published; comments by members of the public are paraphrased and their names withheld; the highlights are ours. Portraits: Sunita Dhir, BC NDP; Jaime Stein, Conservative Party of BC. Photo: Langara College, by Underbar dk, 2016, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.