Ravi Kahlon has endorsed Todd Schierling as the BC NDP candidate in Delta North. Kahlon is stepping away after three terms, but his departure has opened a race that is already beginning to take shape.
DELTA — For nearly a decade, Ravi Kahlon was the name voters in Delta North knew at election time.
That changes this fall.
Kahlon, who has represented Delta North since first winning the riding in 2017, announced on September 22 that he would not seek re-election in the October 24 provincial election. He said it was time for the next champion of North Delta to step forward, ending a three-election run in the riding.
The BC NDP has now chosen that replacement.
Todd Schierling
His name is Todd Schierling, a Delta North resident and longtime firefighter who has served with Surrey Fire Service since 1996.
Kahlon has endorsed him.
But the field behind him is not empty.
CentreBC has publicly named Kuldeep Rangi as its Delta North candidate, while the Conservatives have not publicly identified a 2026 Delta North candidate in the current sources reviewed by StudioX. CentreBC’s own website lists Rangi for Delta North.
And with nominations still open, the final ballot has not yet been set.
Elections BC says its current online candidate list only shows nominations that have been accepted. It does not include every person who has publicly declared an intention to run. Nominations close at 1 p.m. on October 3, with the final candidate list to be available after the deadline.
That makes Delta North one of the ridings to watch as the candidate field takes shape.
From the fire service to provincial politics
Schierling is entering provincial politics with a résumé built outside elected office.
He has been a Suppression Fire Captain with Surrey Fire Service since 1996 and is president of the BC Professional Firefighters’ Association.
His professional and community work has also included the BC Municipal Pension Plan, the BC Federation of Labour Executive Council and the BC First Responders Mental Health Committee.
He has also been involved with the Surrey Fire Fighters Goodwill Senior Girls High School Basketball Tournament, which the NDP says has provided more than $125,000 in student bursaries.
Kahlon said he personally called Schierling and asked him to run.
“Todd has spent nearly three decades serving people as a firefighter and advocating for first responders,” Kahlon said in the NDP announcement. He described Schierling as a Delta North resident who would fight for the community.
Schierling said Kahlon’s call was an honour and said his approach would be based on listening, considering evidence and working with others.
Premier David Eby has also backed the nomination.
The NDP is therefore presenting Schierling as a community-focused candidate with a long record in public service, emergency response and organized labour.
But this will be his first provincial election.
Kahlon’s three-election record
Kahlon’s departure matters because Delta North has been represented by him since 2017.
The current riding was won by Kahlon in the 2017, 2020 and 2024 provincial elections. His 2024 victory was the third consecutive time he had won the seat.
The official 2024 Elections BC results show:
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ravi Kahlon | NDP | 10,988 | 52.73% |
| Raj Veauli | Conservative | 8,381 | 40.22% |
| Nick Dickinson-Wilde | Green | 1,292 | 6.20% |
| Manqoosh Khan | Freedom | 177 | 0.85% |
There were 20,838 valid votes, with 20,876 people voting out of 36,062 registered voters.
The NDP’s margin over the Conservatives was 2,607 votes.
Those numbers are now part of the background Schierling inherits.
But they are also historical numbers. The 2026 election has a different incumbent, different candidates and potentially a different field.
The candidate who has entered from CentreBC
The other publicly identified name currently drawing attention in Delta North is Kuldeep Rangi.
Kuldeep Rangi
CentreBC lists Rangi as its candidate for Delta North on the party’s current team page.
The party describes itself as a new political movement advocating what it calls a balanced approach to government, with an emphasis on public services, the private sector, affordability, safety and opportunity.
Rangi’s professional background includes real estate and banking. The candidate information previously released publicly identifies him as a managing broker with Skystreet Real Estate Marketing and as a former banker with Scotiabank and First West.
His entry gives Delta North voters a publicly identified candidate outside the two parties that dominated the 2024 result.
But, again, there is an important election-process distinction.
CentreBC can publicly announce its candidate before Elections BC has accepted the formal nomination. Elections BC explicitly says its online list is not a complete list of everyone who has publicly declared.
What about the Conservatives?
That is one of the biggest unanswered questions in Delta North.
The Conservatives finished second in the riding in 2024.
Their candidate, Raj Veauli, received 8,381 votes, or 40.22 per cent of the valid vote.
But Veauli should not automatically be described as the 2026 Conservative candidate.
As of September 28, the current public candidate information reviewed by StudioX does not identify a Conservative candidate for Delta North.
That could change before nominations close.
For now, the accurate description is that the Conservatives have not publicly identified their 2026 Delta North candidate in the sources reviewed.
That distinction is important because the 2024 Conservative result is significant to the history of the riding, but a previous candidate is not automatically a candidate in a new election.
What happened to the other 2024 candidates?
The same rule applies to the Greens and Freedom Party.
Green candidate Nick Dickinson-Wilde received 1,292 votes in 2024, or 6.20 per cent.
Freedom Party candidate Manqoosh Khan received 177 votes, or 0.85 per cent.
Neither result establishes that either candidate is running again in 2026.
The final 2026 field remains subject to the nomination process.
Elections BC says candidates must submit complete nomination applications, including the required deposit, by October 3 at 1 p.m. to appear on the ballot.
What Schierling is inheriting
The NDP will have a local record to point to in Delta North.
Its endorsement announcement highlighted several projects involving provincial funding.
Among them is the $4.9-million synthetic turf field at Mackie Park, supported through the province’s Growing Communities Fund.
The party also points to the renewed Seaquam Secondary School track, described as a $4-million joint project involving the City of Delta and Delta School District with provincial funding.
Other projects highlighted by the NDP include the Delview Cricket Ground, which received $175,000 in provincial funding for park upgrades, improvements to the North Delta Track and playground investments, including an accessible playground planned for Sunshine Hills Elementary.
Those projects are likely to form part of the NDP’s local campaign message.
Schierling, meanwhile, brings a different personal profile.
He is not a longtime politician or sitting MLA.
He is a firefighter who has spent his career in emergency services and labour advocacy.
That background will now be tested in a provincial campaign.
The questions facing the new candidate
Schierling will be campaigning under the governing NDP banner while trying to establish his own identity with voters.
The campaign will therefore involve more than Kahlon’s endorsement.
Voters will have the opportunity to assess Schierling’s own record, the NDP government’s record and the priorities of the other candidates who ultimately appear on the ballot.
The riding’s 2024 result also provides context.
Kahlon won with 52.73 per cent, but the Conservatives were at 40.22 per cent.
The difference between the two leading candidates was 2,607 votes.
That is why the identity of the remaining candidates matters.
If the Conservatives nominate someone, that person would be entering a riding where the party finished second last time.
If additional candidates enter, they would be competing for the same pool of voters in a riding where the 2024 ballot already included four candidates.
None of those possibilities determines the outcome of the 2026 election. They simply illustrate why the final candidate list matters.
An open seat with a changing field
Kahlon’s decision has changed the starting point for Delta North.
He is no longer seeking the seat.
Schierling has been publicly announced as the NDP candidate and has received Kahlon’s endorsement.
Rangi is publicly listed by CentreBC as its Delta North candidate.
The Conservative candidate has not yet been publicly identified in the sources reviewed by StudioX, while the final Elections BC candidate list is still pending.
The BC Greens and other potential candidates may also have decisions to make before the deadline.
And Elections BC has already made clear that its current accepted-nomination list should not be treated as the complete public field until nominations close.
The firefighter now carrying the NDP banner
For Kahlon, the transition is straightforward: after three terms, he is stepping aside and endorsing someone he believes can continue representing North Delta.
For Schierling, the job is different.
He now has to introduce himself to voters not as a firefighter responding to emergencies, but as a candidate asking voters to send him to the B.C. Legislature.
And unlike Kahlon, he does not have an electoral record in the riding.
He has the endorsement.
He has the party nomination.
He has a long career in public service.
But the ballot will ultimately contain the names of everyone who completes the nomination process.
Kahlon hands Delta North to a firefighter. The field behind him is not empty.
The next chapter will be written before nominations close on October 3, with British Columbians voting provincially on October 24, 2026.
Delta North: Key facts
- Riding: Delta North
- Outgoing MLA: Ravi Kahlon, BC NDP
- Kahlon first elected: 2017
- 2026 NDP candidate: Todd Schierling — publicly announced and endorsed by Kahlon
- CentreBC candidate: Kuldeep Rangi — publicly listed by CentreBC
- 2024 Conservative candidate: Raj Veauli — 8,381 votes, 40.22%
- 2024 NDP candidate: Ravi Kahlon — 10,988 votes, 52.73%
- Registered voters in 2024: 36,062
- 2024 turnout: 20,876 voters, 57.89%
- Nomination deadline: October 3, 2026, at 1 p.m.
- Provincial election: October 24, 2026
Reporting note: Candidate announcements and accepted Elections BC nominations are not necessarily the same thing. Elections BC says its current online list only shows nominations it has accepted; the final candidate list will be available after nominations close.
Harnaik Singh Rathor is the Founder, Publisher, and Editor-in-Chief of StudioX News Canada, Canada's multilingual digital news network serving diaspora communities across 44 languages. With a background in media production, public relations, and multicultural communications, he founded StudioX Film and TV Corporation to bridge the gap between mainstream Canadian media and the country's diverse immigrant communities. He is a member of the Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ), RTDNA Canada, CPRS Vancouver, NEPMCC, and the Canadian Freelance Union (Unifor). Based in Surrey, British Columbia. | LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/harnaiksinghrathor/ | Muck Rack: https://muckrack.com/harnaiksinghrathor | Email: editor@studioxnews.ca
