Outgoing B.C. Conservative MP Ed Fast endorses independent Mike de Jong [Video]

Longtime Conservative member of Parliament Ed Fast, who is not seeking re-election, is endorsing Independent candidate Mike de Jong as his successor in the riding of Abbotsford—South Langley.

Fast says in a statement that “democracy lost out” when the Conservatives chose Sukhman Gill, a 25-year-old blueberry farmer and businessman, as their candidate instead of de Jong.

De Jong — who won eight terms in the B.C. legislature and held cabinet posts, including finance and forestry — announced last month that he would be running as an Independent in the riding after the Conservative Party of Canada disqualified him as a candidate.

Fast says in the statement that he asked Conservative Party officials to begin “an open and fair process” to choose a replacement for his riding of Abbotsford-South Langley.

He says his party “disqualified the most qualified candidate,” adding that de Jong supports such conservative policies as reducing taxes, getting tough on violent criminals and rebuilding the military.