Meena Wong hopes to unseat Ujjal Dosanjh in Vancouver South for NDP

Able to speak Cantonese, Mandarin, and Shanghainese, community activist Meena Wong could be a formidable candidate in Vancouver South, where at least 43 percent of residents are of Chinese descent.

Wong, who is seeking the NDP's nomination in the federal riding, may give Conservative candidate Wai Young stiff competition for the Chinese vote.

With incumbent Liberal MP Ujjal Dosanjh, a politician of South Asian roots, gunning for a fourth term, the three major parties will be represented in the riding by contenders with ethnic-minority origins.

“Vancouver South is a very diverse community,” Wong told the Straight by phone.

If the last election in 2008 gave Dosanjh a scare as Young came close to knocking him off, the former B.C. NDP premier sounded confident in a phone interview with the Straight, saying that he has been “working very, very hard in the last two years”.

“This is going to be a different campaign,” Dosanjh declared on the line from Ottawa.

Dosanjh said that he has been regularly engaging his constituents through town-hall meetings. He also noted that compared to 2008, federal Liberals in B.C. are polling higher.

Wong has done extensive work with the Coalition of Progressive Electors, a Vancouver civic party. She is known in the Chinese community for her involvement in the head-tax issue, and she is on the board of the Civic Education Society, a voluntary organization.

Comments

24 Comments

really

Feb 17, 2011 at 6:25am

I beleive she will only split the asian vote while the indian vote goes directly to Dosangh, in 2008 most of the asian vote went to Young....bad news for Young.

Stephen Elliott-Buckley

Feb 17, 2011 at 9:48am

Meena is a bright, engaging, intelligent woman of integrity. Her passions and commitment to social justice and human development are impressive. Vancouver South will be a fantastic race in the next election. I'm very happy to see Meena in the mix.

David Wong

Feb 17, 2011 at 11:57am

I agree with the first comment. The Chinese vote will be split, and Ujjal will benefit from it.

tim.

Feb 17, 2011 at 12:09pm

that's great to see meena running in vancouver south. i think she'd be a great MP and she will really represent the constituency.

jerrymith

Feb 17, 2011 at 12:09pm

she's in it to get the benefits after only a few years of service. Most people who can't work in private enterprises, tend to go to politics so they can get paid and get early benefits for only a few years of service

Stephen

Feb 17, 2011 at 3:52pm

Meena will be a formidable candidate for the NDP. She's intelligent, committed, and articulate. I suspect her appeal will transcend ethnicity. She has what it takes to attract the support of left-leaning Liberals, "progressive" Conservatives, and working class people of all backgrounds.

J_J

Feb 17, 2011 at 5:38pm

Another possibility: Left-leaning Chinese voters who usually vote for Dosanjh could go to Meena Wong, while the majority of Chinese people who hold more conservative beliefs could push Wai Young to victory.

Lisa J

Feb 17, 2011 at 6:56pm

This is great! Meena is a fantastic addition to the already strong slate of New Democrats in Vancouver.

Carolyn Jerome

Feb 17, 2011 at 7:31pm

Meena will make an excellent Member of Parliament given her commitment to the larger community she has made as an activist.
And as such, she has the qualifications to appeal to all voters, not just one group in the community, as so suggested.

So, I think she will appeal to many voters.

@Carolyn

Feb 17, 2011 at 9:36pm

Don't know much about Meena, but at least she looks better than the other candidates.