Abbotsford-South Langley candidate Mike de Jong, who is running as an Independent, has received an endorsement from retiring federal Conservative MP Ed Fast, who represented a riding in Abbotsford for more than 18 years.

Fast, who was first elected as the member of Parliament for Abbotsford in 2006, announced last year he would be stepping down from federal politics.

Shortly after, de Jong, who won eight terms in the B.C. legislature with B.C. United  — formerly known as the B.C. Liberal Party — …