In the hotly contested riding of Burnaby-Douglas, yet another Conservative candidate is making a statement by saying nothing at all.
The diverse suburban Vancouver riding is considered too close to call, with star NDP candidate Kennedy Stewart facing off against Tory Ronald Leung, who lost the 2008 vote by just 798 votes.
On Thursday, all candidates were invited to a debate in the packed gymnasium of a local high school, but Leung was a no-show.
His absence prompted student Scott Johnson to place a "Missing" poster on Leung's designated seat.
"It's just kind of upsetting, because there's no interest he showing, and I don't see that as a good quality for our MP for Burnaby-Douglas," Johnson told CTV News.
Leung, a radio host whose first language is Cantonese, has missed three English-language debates. That behaviour has left his opponents perplexed.
"He hasn't come to a single debate within the riding. I've even taken translators to Chinese-language-only debates, and when he hears that, he doesn't show up," Stewart said.
Liberal Ken Lowe described Leung's absence as "unacceptable."
"As a candidate, he should do his duty to be accessible to the voters, to let people know what he stands for and how he explains his party's policies and issues," Lowe said.
Leung wasn't available for comment on Thursday. His campaign manager told CTV News Leung doesn't go to debates when attendance is sparse, but said he didn't know the necessary threshold for the candidate show up.
The riding has been an NDP stronghold for decades, before Leung almost unseated former MP Bill Siksay in the last election. A loss for the New Democrats could be a major blow to the party.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Jina You
