---
title: "Garry Thind's election as MLA could trigger an $840,000 Surrey school trustee byelection"
description: "Thind was re-elected as a Surrey school trustee on October 17 and then elected as a Conservative MLA for Surrey-Guildford on October 24. Once sworn in, he will be disqualified from the trustee seat, and a court application filed by November 20 could result in a byelection or the next-highest candidate being declared elected."
canonical_url: "https://voche.me/bc/provincial-2026/news/garry-thind-mla-election-triggers-surrey-school-trustee-byelection-2026"
last_updated: "2026-10-30T21:37:57.092Z"
---

A judge may decide whether Surrey will hold a school trustee byelection at a cost of $840,000, after [Garry Thind](/bc/provincial-2026/candidates/garry-thind) was re-elected as a trustee and then elected as an MLA in two elections one week apart. Surrey Now-Leader reported on October 29.

Thind placed second among Surrey school trustee candidates with 43,893 votes in the October 17 municipal election. One week later, on October 24, he was elected as the BC Conservative MLA for [Surrey-Guildford](/bc/provincial-2026/races/mla/surrey-guildford).

Once sworn in as MLA, Thind will be disqualified from his school trustee seat, according to Surrey Schools.

## A court application by November 20

Under the Local Government Act, the Chief Election Officer, a candidate in the election, or any four electors may apply to court for a determination. Surrey Schools says any application must be filed within 30 days of the certification of the election results, which is November 20, 2026.

A judge may order one of two outcomes: that the trustee position is vacant, resulting in a byelection; or that the candidate with the next-highest number of votes be declared elected in Thind's place. That candidate is Gary Tymoschuk, an incumbent trustee who ran with Thind on the Surrey First Education slate.

## Cost and who pays

Surrey Schools says the City of Surrey has estimated a byelection would cost $840,000. The district says those costs would be funded entirely by the school district.

"The District cannot comment on what Garry Thind's election as an MLA means for filling the final Board seat or the possibility of any byelection. That will depend on whether a court application is made and, if so, how the court rules," Surrey Schools said in a statement.

## Thind says the party is looking for options

Thind told the Surrey Now-Leader that BC Conservative party officials are looking at whether there is a legal way to avoid a byelection. "We don't want an additional cost to incur on taxpayers," he said.

Thind's name remained on the trustee ballot despite him not wanting it there, the Surrey Now-Leader reported. He had signed up for re-election as a trustee before deciding to run in the provincial election.

Surrey residents with children in the school district can follow the court application deadline of November 20. Garry Thind's record as MLA is tracked at [his candidate page](/bc/provincial-2026/candidates/garry-thind) and the [Surrey-Guildford district page](/bc/provincial-2026/races/mla/surrey-guildford).

## Sitemap

See the full [sitemap](/bc/provincial-2026/sitemap.md) for all pages.