One of seven people seeking the federal Conservative nomination for the Abbotsford-South Langley riding has pulled out of the race.
Dustin Hiles announced Wednesday (Feb. 5) that he is no longer seeking the nomination after being diagnosed last September with Stage 5 kidney disease and undergoing dialysis treatment four days a week.
"After careful consideration, I have decided to no longer seek the Conservative Party nomination and give my health top priority as I prepare for my kidney transplant in the coming months," Hiles said in a written statement.
Hiles said he is now endorsing Shanjeelin Dwivedi to be elected as the riding's candidate, saying she has demonstrated "a deep commitment to common sense, faith-based, true-blue Conservative values."
"I believe she is the best choice to fight against the divisive and woke Liberal policies that have broken this country," he said.
Hiles, an opera singer, first became involved as campaign manager for gourmet-hotdog vendor Skully White, who announced last May that he was seeking the federal Conservative Party nomination for the riding.
When White announced in December that he was stepping out of the race to devote more time to his family, Hiles took his place.
Hiles formerly served as a special assistant to Canada’s longest-serving speaker of the House of Commons, Liberal MP Peter Milliken from Ontario.
He is no longer with the Liberals, and at the time he announced he was running for the Conservative nomination, Hiles described himself as a "pro-life Ukrainian Catholic activist" who is "committed to fighting for affordability as families are struggling under the weight of Trudeau's crippling carbon tax, inflation, and an unprecedented housing crisis."
Hiles was raised between Abbotsford and Mission, and ran for the mayor of Mission in 2022, when Paul Horn was re-elected.
The six people still seeking the nomination for Abbotsford-South Langley are Dwivedi, who has served as a director of parliamentary affairs with two MPs as well as a senior adviser and campaign volunteer; former longtime BC United MLA Mike de Jong; Mike Murray, the former constituency assistant to retiring MP Ed Fast; Steve Schafer, vice-president of the Langley-Aldergrove constituency association; farmer Sukhman Singh Gill; and Gurnoor Sidhu, who ran for Abbotsford council in 2022.
A date for the nomination vote has not yet been announced.
A federal election must take place this year in October, but it's expected to happen sooner than that.
