A by-election was scheduled to be held on September 26, 2026, to elect a member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) to represent Abbotsford-Mission in the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia following the resignation of Conservative MLA Reann Gasper, who resigned to allow Kerry-Lynne Findlay, the leader of the Conservative Party, to run for a seat in the legislature. However, the by-election was cancelled due to a general election called for 24 October by premier David Eby.
Background Conservative MLA Reann Gasper was elected to the Legislative Assembly in the 2024 British Columbia provincial election, defeating incumbent minister Pam Alexis of the New Democratic Party.
On May 30, 2026, Kerry-Lynne Findlay, a former federal member of Parliament and cabinet minister, was elected leader of the BC Conservatives, succeeding John Rustad. As Findlay did not hold a seat in the Legislative Assembly, she began seeking an opportunity to enter the legislature.
On August 22, 2026, Gasper announced that she would step down as an MLA, allowing Findlay to run in a by-election. Gasper subsequently took a position as Findlay's deputy chief of staff. On September 20, 2026, Findlay announced her resignation as leader of the Conservative Party of BC. She remained a candidate despite speculation of an early general election being called.
The by-election was cancelled on September 22, just 4 days before the planned election day with the call of a snap general election. The writ meant that the by-election was cancelled. Ballots that were cast in the by-election will not be included in the general election. As a result, Gasper was not reselected for the seat by the BC Conservatives and instead businessman Darryl Kropp was selected.
Constituency
Abbotsford-Mission is a semi-urban provincial electoral district in the Fraser Valley region of British Columbia, straddling the Fraser River. The district includes parts of northeastern Abbotsford, including Clayburn and Ridgedale, as well as the city of Mission, including Hatzic. Since its creation in 2008, it has been represented by the BC Liberal, New Democratic and BC Conservative parties.
Timing Per Section 35 of the Constitution Act, the writ for a by-election must be issued within six months of a seat in the Legislative Assembly becoming vacant, and the final voting day must be scheduled exactly 28 days after the writ was issued. The writ for the by-election was issued on August 29, 2026, with voting scheduled for September 26, 2026.
Candidates Conservative Party On August 22, it was announced that Conservative leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay would run in the by-election, following the resignation of Reann Gasper. She will be seeking a seat after becoming leader in May 2026, although she resigned as leader during the by-election campaign due to internal fighting within the party over her leadership. Findlay is the former minister of National Revenue (2013–2015), MP for South Surrey—White Rock (2019–2025), and MP for Delta—Richmond East (2011–2015). She lives in Surrey.
New Democratic Party On August 29, the day the by-election was called, Pam Alexis was announced as the NDP candidate. She is the former minister of Agriculture and Food (2022–2024), MLA for Abbotsford-Mission (2020–2024), and mayor of Mission (2018–2020).
Green Party On September 5, Stephen Fowler was announced as the Green candidate. He is a life-long Fraser Valley resident, teacher at Rick Hansen Secondary School and former mill worker in Maple Ridge.
Fowler previously ran federally for the Green Party of Canada in 2015, 2019, and 2021, as well as provincially in 2020.
CentreBC On August 30, CentreBC announced Lakhwinder Jhaj as their candidate. She resides in Abbotsford and is a farmer, construction industry operator, and car dealership owner. She is on the Liberal Party of Canada Mission—Matsqui—Abbotsford Electoral District Association board of directors.
Jhaj previously ran for office provincially for the NDP in Abbotsford South in 2013 and Boundary-Similkameen in 2009. She also ran federally for the Liberals in Skeena—Bulkley Valley in 2021.
Other candidates OneBC leader Dallas Brodie announced on August 29 that the party would not run a candidate, saying she did not want to interfere with Findlay's bid to enter the legislature.
The Libertarian Party nominated Jeff Monds as its candidate for the by-election. He previously ran for the Libertarian Party of Canada in the 2008 and 2011 federal elections, as well as in multiple provincial elections. He most recently ran as an independent candidate in the 2026 North Vancouver—Capilano federal by-election.
Campaign A debate was held on September 10, 2026. Issues included transportation, agriculture and taxes. The campaign was held amid an internal crisis for the BC Conservatives with multiple defections.
Result/aftermath Result in the subsequent general election
Previous result
See also 2026 Canadian electoral calendar
List of British Columbia by-elections 2025 Battle River—Crowfoot federal by-election 2017 Manchester Gorton by-election, by-election in England cancelled for the 2017 United Kingdom general election
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