Burnaby resident Heather Leung has been confirmed as the Conservative Party of Canada candidate for the riding of Burnaby North-Seymour.
The riding association held a nominating meeting Wednesday night and Leung beat out candidates Wayne Marklund, Antje Wilson and David Liu, according to a posting on the association’s Facebook page.
The NOW reached out to Leung for comment, but hasn’t heard back yet.
Leung, an occupational therapist, is no stranger to politics, having run most recently – unsuccessfully - as a council candidate in the City of Burnaby election for the Burnaby First Coalition.
Leung was a vocal opponent in 2011 of a school board policy designed to prevent discrimination against gay, lesbian and queer staff and students in Burnaby schools.
“What is being recommended in this draft is a deliberate and systemic strategy to indoctrinate our children with a controversial moral teaching that should be left for families to decide on and wrestle through,” she said at a Burnaby school board meeting in 2011.
Leung will be running against NDP candidate Svend Robinson, Canada's first openly gay federal politician, as well as Liberal MP Terry Beech and Green candidate Amita Kuttner.
Leung served as the spokesperson for Burnaby Parents’ Voice, a group formed to oppose the gay- and transgender-positive policy. In November 2011, Leung unsuccessfully ran for school board.
But Leung told the NOW in October 2018 that her past political involvement has nothing to do with her run for city council.
But Leung did sign the nomination papers for Laura-Lynn Tyler Thompson, a TV host and outspoken critic of B.C.’s sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) resource for schools, in Thompson’s independent bid for Burnaby’s school board.
Leung said signing Tyler Thompson’s nomination papers should not be seen as an endorsement of her views.
“Like me, entering into politics takes courage, I know,” Leung said.
“I have been the target of intimidation and have experienced bullying on numerous occasions, including media. If someone is willing to take on this challenge and they meet the legal requirement, I will sign their papers.”
When interviewed by the NOW in September 2018, Leung repeatedly refused to say whether she continued to disagree with SOGI policies.
