Brad Vis was born and raised in Matsqui, now Abbotsford, and graduated from Robert Bateman Secondary School.
He attended the University of the Fraser Valley before completing a bachelor’s degree from UBC and a master’s from Carleton University, specializing in parliamentary decision making.
He worked on Parliament Hill for several years, and eventually worked at the Department of Foreign Affairs, under Ed Fast, as an adviser in international trade.
Vis said he wants to champion people with disabilities, as a member of parliament, and he also wants to champion the agricultural sector.
“There are endless opportunities to develop our agricultural resources and develop secondary food products and manufactured products. And I think there is going to be a lot of economic opportunity for people in the riding if we focus on those things,” he said.
Throughout the campaign, Vis said he has spent time knocking on doors and what he hears more than anything else is that families want to make sure the government is using their taxpayers’ dollars wisely. He said they recognize that the government has done a lot to support Canadian families.
“Since 2006, the average Canadian family has about $6,000 more in their pocket through different tax breaks and tax reductions and direct benefits.”
Support for seniors is another key local issue that Vis said people ask him about.
“We’ve taken hundreds of thousands of low-income seniors off the tax payroll all together. That’s been a really big accomplishment of the Conservative Party that often goes unnoticed.”
Mission-Matsqui-Fraser Canyon has the third largest proportion of seniors in the country.
“Income splitting for seniors has saved a lot of money for seniors in the community and I’ve also heard a lot of people very pleased to know that we will now have a single senior tax credit,” he said.
According to Vis, the current government has made record investments in health and social transfers. Since 2006, health transfers to the provinces have increased from $20 billion to $34 billion – an increase of 70 per cent.
By the end of the decade, health transfers will reach $40 billion, he said.
Fraser River management is another local issue that is a concern to Vis. He’s looking forward to working with stakeholders to address some of the concerns related to flood management, protection and dyke infrastructure.
The challenges of serving the new riding are evident, according to Vis.
“Most of the population lives within Abbotsford and Mission and I understand that. That said, people in the Fraser Canyon also need access to their member of parliament. So, I have committed to people in the rural regions to make regular, scheduled visits throughout the year.”