Elenore Sturko MLA | |
|---|---|
| Member of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly for Surrey-Cloverdale | |
| Assumed office October 19, 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Mike Starchuk |
| Member of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly for Surrey South | |
| In office September 10,2022 –October 19,2024 | |
| Preceded by | Stephanie Cadieux |
| Succeeded by | Brent Chapman |
| Personal details | |
| Political party | BC Conservatives (since 2024) |
| Other political affiliations | BC Liberal/United (2022-2024) |
| Residence(s) | Surrey,British Columbia |
Elenore Sturko is a Canadian politician who currently serves as a member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) of British Columbia. First elected in a 2022 by-election in Surrey South as a member of the BC Liberal Party (later renamed BC United), [1] she crossed the floor to join the BC Conservatives in June 2024, [2] [3] and was elected in Surrey-Cloverdale in that year's provincial election. [4]
Sturko graduated from Kamloops Senior Secondary,then entered the broadcasting industry by joining CFJC-TV in Kamloops. [5] She became a reservist with the Canadian Forces Air Command in 2007,serving with the Yellowknife-based 440 Transport Squadron. [5] She then joined the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in 2009,eventually attaining the rank of staff sergeant. [6] [7] Stationed in Surrey since 2018,she became a spokesperson for the Surrey RCMP. [6] [8] She and her wife Melissa have three children. [5] [9]
Following Stephanie Cadieux's resignation as Surrey South MLA,Sturko was approached by BC Liberal leader Kevin Falcon to run as the party's candidate, [6] and was elected to the legislature in the September 2022 by-election. [1] She was named the official opposition education critic that October, [10] and became shadow minister for Mental Health,Addiction,Recovery and Education that December. [11] [12]
On June 3,2024,she announced her decision to leave BC United and sit in the legislature as a Conservative,becoming the party's fourth MLA. [2] [9] [13] She contested the electoral district of Surrey-Cloverdale in that October's provincial election,defeating the incumbent New Democratic Party candidate Mike Starchuk to become that riding's MLA. [14] She was named to Conservative leader John Rustad's shadow cabinet that November,serving as critic for Solicitor General and Public Safety. [15] [16]
| 2024 British Columbia general election : Surrey-Cloverdale | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Conservative | Elenore Sturko | 10,268 | 48.3% | |||||
| New Democratic | Mike Starchuk* | 9,681 | 45.6% | |||||
| Green | Pat McCutcheon | 1,150 | 5.4% | |||||
| Freedom | Judy Meilleur | 153 | 0.7% | |||||
| Total valid votes | 21,252 | – | ||||||
| Total rejected ballots | ||||||||
| Turnout | ||||||||
| Registered voters | ||||||||
| Source: Elections BC [17] | ||||||||
| British Columbia provincial by-election, September 10, 2022: Surrey South | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Elenore Sturko | 5,568 | 51.83 | +4.48 | $71,826.15 | |||
| New Democratic | Pauline Greaves | 3,221 | 29.98 | –13.08 | $58,814.93 | |||
| Conservative | Harman Bhangu | 1,364 | 12.70 | — | $38,150.18 | |||
| Green | Simran Sarai | 368 | 3.43 | –6.15 | $5,252.57 | |||
| Libertarian | Jason Bax | 221 | 2.06 | — | $640.83 | |||
| Total valid votes | 10,742 | 99.87 | — | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | 14 | 0.13 | –1.23 | |||||
| Turnout | 10,756 | 19.8 | –32.94 | |||||
| Registered voters | 54,363 | |||||||
| Liberal hold | Swing | +8.78 | ||||||
| Source: Elections BC [18] [19] | ||||||||