Image: Dustin Lee Hiles / Dustin Lee Hiles (centre), with MP Ed Fast (left) and MP Brad Vis (right). HIles, a Fraser Valley native, says he will seek the federal Conservative Party nomination for the Abbotsford-South Langley riding.
Federal MP candidate

Fraser Valley native to seek Abbotsford-South Langley federal nomination

Dec 12, 2024 | 12:38 PM

ABBOTSFORD — Fraser Valley native Dustin Lee Hiles announced earlier this week he will seek the Conservative Party nomination in Abbotsford-South Langley.

Hiles, a Ukrainian Pacific Islander, is a Candian tenor and international opera singer who has previously worked as a special assistant to Canada’s longest-serving speaker in the House of Commons, Peter Miliken, and gained invaluable experience in Parliament that enabled him to build a strong bipartisan network of connections from around the world.

“I grew up between Abbotsford and Mission and look forward to connecting with families and residents over the next few months. It’s time for the next generation of young conservatives to take the lead!” Hiles wrote in his campaign statement.

Hiles says he left the federal Liberal Party of Canada due to his opposition to what he calls “Prime Minister Trudeau’s dangerous support for the Hamas terrorist lobby.”

“This personal conviction aligns with Dustin’s pro-Israel stance and his belief in the fundamental right of citizens to live freely, without the heavy hand of government interference,” Hiles said.

Hiles describes himself as a pro-Ukrainian Catholic, listing in his campaign statement his educational upbringing at St. John Brebeuf Regional Secondary School. He was later educated at the University of Manitoba.

As for his campaign platform, Hiles says he will fight for affordability as families are struggling under the weight of what he called “Trudeau’s crippling tax, inflation and an unprecedented housing crisis.”

“Dustin will fight to axe the [carbon] tax and stand with Pierre Poilievre to tackle the housing crisis and make life more affordable for families,” he said. “(Dustin) will challenge Trudeau’s destructive woke social policies, which divide Canadians and impose dangerous and divisive ideologies.”

There are multiple other candidates who have expressed an interest in the Abbotsford-South Langley riding for the federal conservatives. They include former Abbotsford West MLA Michael de Jong; Mike Murray, a former assistant to Abbotsford MP Ed Fast; Steve Schafer, VP of the Langley-Aldergrove Constituency Association; and Shanjeelin Dwivedi, who is being recommended by Cloverdale-Langley City MP candidate Tamara Jansen.