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ELECTION: Ryan Warawa to run for BC Conservative Party in Langley East

Son of late MP Mark Warawa is former president of provincial party
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Ryan Warawa will run for the BC Conservative Party in Langley East (Special to Langley Advance Times)

Ryan Warawa will run for the BC Conservative Party in Langley East.

As the son of the late Langley – Aldergrove Conservative MP Mark Warawa, Ryan said he was proud to be following in his father’s footsteps, noting that the Langley East provincial riding overlaps with some of the federal constituency the elder Warawa represented.

“Five generations of the Wawara clan have been residents of Langley,” Ryan observed.

Ryan called his father a “role model.”

“I know that I could probably never fill his shoes,” he told the Langley Advance Times.

READ ALSO: A tree is planted on Mark Warawa’s birthday

Following his father’s passing, Ryan Warawa said he has become “passionate” about the issues of palliative care and hospices.

One thing he and his father had in common, Ryan noted, is the fact that speaking to large crowds isn’t something that comes naturally.

“It’s something that [we both] had to learn,” Warawa remarked.

Warawa views the election call by the B.C. NDP as “unfortunate.”

“I don’t think anyone wanted to go to the polls in a pandemic, but it is what it is,” he commented.

Waarwa is a former president of the BC Conservative party, said it represents the only truly conservative option in B.C., describing the NDP, Liberals and Greens as “left-wing.”

Warawa, who works in the insurance industry, described himself as currently single and “a proud uncle to 10 nieces and nephews. “

With the announcement of his candidacy on Friday, Sept. 25, Ryan Warawa will be running against Township councillors Margaret Kunst (Liberal) and Eric Woodward (NDP), and Green hopeful Cheryl Wiens.

READ ALSO: Langley Township councillor Margaret Kunst will be the Liberal candidate in Langley East

READ ALSO: Langley Township councillor Eric Woodward will run for the BC NDP in Langley East

READ ALSO: Wiens named Green candidate for Langley East

Mark Warawa died in June of 2019 at the age of 69, following a battle with cancer.

In January of that year, Warawa, who had held his seat for more than 15 years, announced that he was retiring to become a chaplain and focus on people in palliative care situations.

Then, in April, Warawa announced online that he was in hospital being treated for cancer.

In May, on his birthday, he bid an emotional farewell to the House of Commons.

His last public appearance was at the annual May Day parade in Fort Langley.



dan.ferguson@langleyadvancetimes.com

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Dan Ferguson

About the Author: Dan Ferguson

Best recognized for my resemblance to St. Nick, I’m the guy you’ll often see out at community events and happenings around town.
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