Former MLA for Richmond South Centre, running again for the BC NDP in Richmond Centre.
Henry Yao was the BC NDP MLA for Richmond South Centre from 2020 to 2024 and lost Richmond Centre to the Conservative candidate in 2024. In 2026 he declared for mayor of Richmond, then withdrew and entered the provincial race. voche.me found no 2026 platform of his own on 2026-10-01.
A researched record of Henry Yao's candidacy in Richmond Centre: 13 commitments, most of them BC NDP platform text or statements from his 2020 to 2024 term, 12 recorded votes from that term, 5 public statements and 4 news items.
On dates without a confirmed appearance the public schedule is unknown; the candidate may still have activities that day. This static page changes only when its research is updated.
01 / Introduction
About Henry Yao
Henry Yao is the BC NDP candidate in Richmond Centre on Elections BC's list of accepted nominations, in the copy stamped October 1, 2026 10:00:06 PM. The same copy lists Sacha Peter for the Conservative Party and Lawrence Chen with the affiliation CWP in the district.
Yao won Richmond South Centre in 2020 with 6,743 votes, 50.67% of the valid vote, ahead of Alexa Loo of the BC Liberals with 6,564, according to the Elections BC statement of votes. In 2024 he ran in Richmond Centre and came second with 5,961 votes, 36.78%. Hon Chan of the Conservative Party won with 8,426 votes, 51.99%.
The legislature's member record lists him for the 42nd Parliament only, for Richmond South Centre, with election year 2020 and no cabinet or other roles. He is not a member of the current legislature, and the 2026 speech and vote indexes have no entry for him. voche.me found no government release naming him to a cabinet or parliamentary secretary post on 2026-10-01.
His member page at the legislature says he was born in Taiwan, moved to Richmond when he was young, worked with young people for more than ten years, and co-founded the Dialogue Richmond Society. Richmond News reports that he holds a psychology degree from the University of British Columbia and ran twice for Richmond City Council without being elected. voche.me did not check these points with the university, the society or the City's past results.
The City of Richmond's declaration of candidates of September 11, 2026 lists him for mayor. On September 21, 2026 Richmond News reported that he had withdrawn, according to the City. He told the paper on September 24 that he entered the mayor's race after negative comments about the Aster Place social housing complex, and that the early provincial election was needed.
Published positions and selected commitments, separated by election cycle. Status labels describe the evidence reviewed, not a numerical score or a complete audit of the platform. Council approval is different from delivery.
13 commitments shown · Checked Oct 1
2026 · GovernanceCampaign pledge
Why he moved to the provincial race
Richmond News reported on September 24, 2026 that Yao said the early provincial election was needed because of the uncertainty the province faces from "external threats", and that he would respect the voters' choice.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
Reporting that gives his reasons for running. It names no measure, cost or date.
What still needs checking
Does Yao publish his own platform for Richmond Centre?
Civil debate in Richmond politics (mayoral campaign)
As a candidate for mayor, Yao wrote on Facebook, as quoted by Richmond News on July 28, 2026, that policy disagreements had too often turned into anger and personal attacks. Richmond News summarized his platform as more respect and calm in city politics.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
A statement from his withdrawn campaign for mayor, about city politics. It sets out no provincial measure.
What still needs checking
Does he say how he would carry this into the legislature?
The BC NDP platform page says the party removed local zoning barriers so that 300,000 more middle-class homes can be built, and promises to keep stopping speculators. The page does not name Yao.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
Party text. voche.me found no 2026 statement by Yao on housing.
What still needs checking
Does Yao speak on housing in Richmond Centre during the campaign?
The BC NDP platform page says one million more people have been connected to a family doctor since 2018, and that the party will keep recruiting and training doctors, nurses and other health workers. The page does not name Yao.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
Party text. voche.me found no 2026 statement by Yao on health care.
What still needs checking
Does Yao speak on Richmond Hospital or doctors during the campaign?
The BC NDP platform page lists protection from rising costs as a heading, and names lower ICBC car insurance rates, child care costs cut in half and low electricity rates. The page does not name Yao.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
Party text. voche.me found no 2026 statement by Yao with a cost of living measure.
What still needs checking
Does Yao name a cost of living measure during the campaign?
The BC NDP platform page says the Province has hired more than 250 more RCMP officers and added 240 police training seats, and lists stronger bail laws and action on extortion. The page does not name Yao.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
Party text. voche.me found no 2026 statement by Yao on public safety.
What still needs checking
Does Yao speak on public safety during the campaign?
The BC NDP platform page lists jobs and opportunity as a heading, with $130 billion in major projects and a plan to double skilled trades training. The page does not name Yao.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
Party text. voche.me found no 2026 statement by Yao on jobs or the economy.
What still needs checking
Does Yao name an economic measure for Richmond during the campaign?
The BC NDP platform page says the party is hiring teachers and building schools, with 250 new or upgraded schools complete or underway. The page does not name Yao.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
Party text. voche.me found no 2026 statement by Yao on schools.
What still needs checking
Does Yao speak on Richmond schools during the campaign?
The BC NDP platform page lists protecting air, land and water as a heading, with stronger environmental assessment and First Nations Guardian programs. The page does not name Yao.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
Party text. voche.me found no 2026 statement by Yao on climate or the environment.
In the budget debate on February 28, 2024, Yao said the Richmond Hospital expansion was under construction and would have cost less if it had been built ten or 15 years earlier.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
A statement from his earlier term. It gives no cost or completion date, and voche.me did not check the project's current status.
What still needs checking
What is the current completion date of the Richmond Hospital expansion?
In a debate on March 11, 2024, Yao spoke for the new medical school at Simon Fraser University and for 14 new medical seats and 88 new resident seats at UBC, and said health workers take years to train.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
A statement from his earlier term about government programs. He did not state a new measure of his own.
On April 29, 2024, replying to a statement by Teresa Wat, Yao said drug use is not allowed in hospitals and that the government was not setting aside hospital space for overdose prevention sites in Richmond or elsewhere.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
A statement from his earlier term on government policy. It names no new measure, cost or date.
In the budget debate on February 28, 2024, Yao said he was glad the government was bringing in a tax on homes resold quickly, and named the speculation and vacancy tax and the first-time home buyer program as other tools.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
A statement from his earlier term on government measures.
Records are labelled by type, including official findings, civil proceedings and political disputes where applicable. Each entry identifies the response found in the sources and the latest status verified for this page.
No reviewed entries have been added to this section yet. This is a research gap, not a finding about the candidate.
News coverage / Original publishers
Read the reporting
A dated reading list from independent publishers. The headings below are voche.me summaries; follow each link for the original article, context and any corrections.
Reporting
Richmond News · Maria Rantanen
Former MLA joins the race for Richmond mayor
Reports that Yao resumed his campaign for mayor after the Aster Place debate, and gives his 2020 and 2024 results.
Sources checked October 1, 2026. Official records establish decisions; campaign material establishes stated positions; reporting adds investigation and context. None alone establishes every claim.
His 2026 campaign page, henryyao.bcndp.ca, sent every request back to itself and showed no page on 2026-10-01, so voche.me read only a 2024 copy kept by the Internet Archive. The BC NDP candidate list held 52 profiles on this date and none for Richmond Centre. voche.me found no 2026 platform or provincial measure of his own. His commitments from 2024 are kept as earlier-term statements and do not count as 2026 positions. An X account named @henryyaormd shows the name Henry Yao with Chinese characters, but its posts need a sign-in and no page voche.me read ties that account to this candidate, so neither the account nor the Chinese name is used. The Facebook page named in Richmond News as his mayoral website shows no readable posts. A Sing Tao article in Chinese about him showed no readable text to a direct read or to the reading tool, so it is not used. Only six transcripts from 2024 were opened. His speeches from 2021 to 2023 and the transcripts behind most recorded votes were not read, and the bills were not read. His membership on legislature committees was not checked. His degree, his youth work and his role in the Dialogue Richmond Society come from his member page and from Richmond News, and were not checked with the university or the society. His two earlier runs for Richmond council are reported by Richmond News; the City's past results were not opened. No 2026 all-candidates meeting for Richmond Centre was found. Campaign finances and endorsements were not reviewed. The questionnaire has not been sent.
Research status
What voche.me has checked
Evidence reviewed on 2026-10-01: the Elections BC candidate list and the 2020 and 2024 statements of votes, the legislature's member record, the 2026 speech and vote indexes, his 2024 speech index and the 2023 and 2024 vote indexes, six transcripts from 2024, the City of Richmond's 2026 declaration of candidates, the BC NDP candidate list, platform page and releases, and five Richmond News reports.
His 2026 campaign page did not open on this date, and voche.me found no 2026 platform of his own. The commitments below are the BC NDP platform, marked as party text, and his statements in the legislature from his earlier term. Sections with no entry record that voche.me found nothing on this date.
Proposed questions for a future interview. They have not been sent to the candidate, and no answers have been supplied.
No questions and answers have been supplied.
Have your own question?
Ask Henry Yao directly. We send it to the campaign, and publish the reply here if we get one.
05 / About this page
Questions about this page
Facts voche.me can state about Henry Yao's page itself, answered directly rather than left blank.
Is this an official page for Henry Yao?
No. This page is researched by voche.me from public sources, listed below, and is separate from Henry Yao's own campaign.
What party is Henry Yao running with?
Henry Yao is running for MLA with BC NDP.
Does Henry Yao currently hold public office?
Not according to this profile. voche.me has not listed a current public office for Henry Yao.
How many sources does this Henry Yao profile cite?
This profile lists 6 sourced references, each with the date voche.me checked it, in the Sources section below.
Why do some questions on Henry Yao's page show no answer?
The "Questions & answers" section on this page lists questions voche.me would put to Henry Yao in a future interview. They have not been sent yet, so the page says plainly that no answer has been supplied instead of leaving the section blank.
When is the election Henry Yao is running in?
The 2026 British Columbia election, including the MLA race, is decided on October 24, 2026.
06 / Candidate contributions
Space for campaign updates
No campaign updates yet
Announcements, event details and messages can be added here, with their source and publication date. No campaign submission has been added.
