Skip to content

Richard Lee to replace Karen Wang as Burnaby South Liberal candidate

The Liberal Party of Canada has announced Saturday morning that former Burnaby MLA Richard T. Lee will be the candidate for Burnaby South in the upcoming federal byelection.
richard lee
Richard Lee gets a consolation hug from his daughter, Leanne, after losing his MLA seat to NDP candidate Janet Routledge in the May 2017 election.

The Liberal Party of Canada has announced Saturday morning that former Burnaby MLA Richard T. Lee will be the candidate for Burnaby South in the upcoming federal byelection.

"Richard Lee has a proven commitment to public service, and he has dedicated his career to making life better for Burnaby families,” said Liberal spokesperson Suzanne Cowan in a news release. “We are honoured to welcome Richard to Team Trudeau as our Liberal candidate in this important by-election, and after sixteen years of service in the BC Legislature, I know he will be a strong and trusted voice for Burnaby South in Parliament.”

Lee replaces Karen Wang as the candidate after she resigned on Wednesday due to controversy over an ill-fated WeChat post about race.

Lee represented Burnaby as an MLA for 16 years – he lost to BC NDP MLA Janet Routledge in 2017 - where he also served as a Parliamentary Secretary and became the first Chinese-Canadian to serve as Deputy Speaker of the Legislature. He and his wife Anne have lived in Burnaby for 32 years and have raised their three children in the community.

“I’m proud to call Burnaby my home, and this by-election is about ensuring Burnaby South has a strong voice in Parliament to help make life better for families in this community,” said Lee in a statement. “I’m looking forward to working with Justin Trudeau to keep making progress on Burnaby’s priorities, like investing in new affordable housing and better transit, creating good middle class jobs, and protecting a healthy environment for our kids and grandkids.”