Ken Charko is running to represent Vancouver Quadra as a Member of Parliament with the Conservative Party of Canada.
Charko did not respond to The Ubyssey’s request to set up an interview nor attend the candidates’ debate hosted in the AMS Nest on April 11. This profile was assembled from publicly available information from Charko’s campaign and previous reporting elsewhere.
Charko’s campaign biography describes him as a Vancouver business owner and a “west side, Kerrisdale, Dunbar and Pt. Grey advocate.” Charko is the president of the Hillcrest Community Centre and the proprietor of the Dunbar Theatre.
He has volunteered with various organizations, including the Canadian Red Cross, Vancouver Olympic Committee, Vancouver Paralympic Committee and the Motion Picture Theatre Association of BC, where he has served on the board of directors for over 20 years and is now president.
Charko previously ran for city council in 2022 with the centre-right Non-Partisan Association, coming in 38th place for one of the ten city council seats at just over 12,000 votes.
Charko’s campaign website doesn’t make any specific commitments at the riding level, but reads that he “will fight for seniors, students, families and small businesses in Vancouver Quadra.”
The Conservative party’s campaign has focused largely on attacking Prime Minister Mark Carney and the legacy of Justin Trudeau's premiership — arguing they will put “Canada First” — and its recent policy proposals have mostly consisted of tax cuts and commitments to accelerate natural resource projects.
In late March, the Conservatives announced intentions to allow Canadians to contribute $5,000 to tax-free savings accounts — beyond the current $7,000 limit — but only if that money is invested in Canadian companies. The party has also announced intentions to speed up resource project application processes, reduce income taxes by 15 per cent and implement a temporary pause on the collection of capital gains taxes if the proceeds of a transaction are reinvested in Canada, lasting until “the end of 2026.”
On housing, the Conservatives announced they would impose penalties on municipalities where acceptance of “egregious cases of NIMBYism” would affect housing supply by limiting access to federal infrastructure funds. A Conservative government would also eliminate GST on all homes under $1.3 million and reimburse municipalities 50 per cent of every dollar they cut development costs for housing construction, up to $50,000, according to the party.
On criminal justice, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre recently announced a “three-strikes” approach that would see serious offenders receive 10-year minimum sentences, which was quickly denounced by legal experts as a presumptively unconstitutional project. The party also supports involuntary care for minors and prisoners who use drugs, but hasn’t taken a stance on adults generally, according to CBC reporting from October 2024.
The Conservatives also support further security measures being taken at the Canada-United States border — including the deployment of the Canadian Armed Forces, adding 2,000 new officers to the Canada Border Services Agency staff and increasing security at shipping ports with “high-powered scanners.”
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