While many Filipino Canadians are focused on the showdown in Vancouver–Kensington between two members of their community, incumbent B.C. NDP MLA Mable Elmore and Liberal challenger Gabby Kalaw, there is a broader story in the May 14 election relevant to the ethnic group.

For the first time, there are five Filipino Canadians running in a B.C. election. They’re also representing three major parties.

It’s the largest number of candidates that community journalist Ted Alcuitas has seen so far in the province.

According to Alcuitas, it’s an indication political parties are increasingly aware that the Filipino Canadian community, the third biggest ethnic minority group in B.C., is a potential force in the electoral scene.

“That’s just the hard fact about politics,” Alcuitas told the Straight in a phone interview today (May 10). “You’re going after the most numbers.”

Only one of the five Filipino Canadian candidates is likely to make it to Victoria after the election. Although Elmore is facing a serious fight from Kalaw, the New Democrat MLA stands a good chance of winning a second term.

The three other candidates are Celyna Sia Sherst, the B.C. Liberal candidate in Vancouver-Mount Pleasant; Nathaniel Lim, the B.C. Conservative candidate in Richmond East; and Elizabeth Pagtakhan, running for the B.C. Conservative Party in Surrey-White Rock.

According to Alcuitas, the participation of the five candidates may also indicate that Filipino Canadians are starting to break away from a common mindset of Filipino immigrants, which is to stay away from politics in their adopted country.

Politics is huge in the Philippines, and its excesses are part of the many and complicated reasons why Filipinos choose to leave.