Liberals name Richard T. Lee as new candidate in Burnaby South

BURNABY, B.C. – The federal Liberals have named a new candidate to run against NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh in the Burnaby South byelection.

They say former provincial legislator Richard T. Lee will replace Karen Wang on the ballot on Feb. 25.

Wang stepped aside Wednesday after she urged Chinese people to vote for her, the “only” Chinese candidate, instead of Singh, who she described as “of Indian descent.”

The Liberals say Lee represented Burnaby in British Columbia’s legislature for 16 years, serving for a time as deputy speaker.

They note that he has lived in the city for more than three decades.

The decision for them to run a candidate in the riding was not a given: Green Party Leader Elizabeth May urged the Liberals to follow her party’s lead in offering a “leader’s courtesy” to Singh by not running against him.