BC Election 2024: Kelowna's new riding shifts voting landscape

Candidates and voters are testing uncharted waters in Kelowna since the electoral district boundaries have been redrawn. This will be the first contest with the new Kelowna Centre riding, and now that the BC Liberals aren't around anymore there are going to be new faces in the electoral districts of Kelowna-Mission, Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream and West Kelowna-Peachland. Kelowna has historically been a BC Liberal stronghold. But the party, which changed its name to the BC United Party, suspended its campaign leaving voters with two prominent parties to choose from.  The electoral districts have been shaken up with the addition of Kelowna Centre. The westside of the bridge has seen some changes as well now that West Kelowna and Peachland have merged into the same riding.   In 2020, BC Liberal Ben Stewart won the race in Kelowna West, now West Kelowna-Peachland, with 49 per cent of the vote, but since he was in the same boat as the other MLAs in Kelowna the Westside is in for a new representative.  BC Liberal Steve Thompson won Kelowna-Mission with 57 per cent of the vote in 2017 and BC Liberal Renee Merrifield won with 50 per cent of the vote in 2020. BC Liberal Ben Stewart won Kelowna West, now West Kelowna-Peachland, in 2020 with 49 per cent of the vote. The defunct BC Liberals won Kelowna-Lake Country in the past two provincial elections. BC Liberal Norm Letnick won with 59 per cent of the vote in 2017 and 55 per cent of the vote in 2020. All the ridings had BC Liberal MLAs, and recent polls are showing BC Conservatives are ahead this time around. BC Conservatives are polling at 52 per cent in Kelowna Centre and the BC NDP are behind at 33 per cent, according to a 338 Canada poll. A recent poll from 338 Canada for Kelowna-Mission shows BC Conservative candidate Gavin Dew ahead at 56 per cent, and BC NDP candidate Harpreet Badohal trailing behind at 30 per cent. The pollsters said if an election was called on Oct. 2, Dew would be certain to win. This election BC Conservative candidate Macklin McCall is ahead in the polls at 64 per cent and BC NDP candidate Krystal Smith is behind at 32 per cent, according to 338 Canada. Recent polls from 338 Canada show BC Conservatives ahead with 59 per cent, and BC NDP behind at 33 per cent. Demographics: In 2020 the population in Kelowna proper was roughly 142,000, but in the total metropolitan area it was closer to 222,000, according to Statistics Canada.  Historically Kelowna has been a retirement community but the Central Okanagan’s Economic Development Commission said the population aged 25 to 54 has grown by more than four per cent, which is higher than the provincial average. Today's issues: The issues that matter to people in Kelowna are the issues affecting all British Columbians. At the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce all-candidates forum on Oct. 10 people asked candidates about the housing crisis, homeless encampments, the toxic drug crisis, and agricultural concerns like the closure of the BC Tree Fruits Cooperative.  Which of these issues voters care about most could be impacted by where they live.  Kelowna Centre spans from McKinley Road down to K.L.O Road and from Highway 97 over to Okanagan Lake. It contains downtown, Glenmore, Dilworth, Landmark and everywhere in between. The riding has major shopping meccas like Orchard Park Mall, it has Landmark Centre with a concentration of office space, and new highrises throughout downtown. Since Kelowna Centre has most of the city's dense urban centres some of the central election issues this time around are rental prices, the homelessness and addiction crises, and tourism and agriculture support. The Kelowna-Mission riding starts at Highway 33 and contains the south end of Kelowna down to the southern tip of Myra-Bellevue Provincial Park, and east until the highway meets Big White Road. Kelowna-Mission has some urban areas including part of Rutland and Pandosy, but it’s mostly agricultural land with sprawling orchards. Kelowna General Hospital is on the edge of the riding, so health care is a major voting issue along with education, construction, agriculture and tourism. Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream goes from Highway 97 west to Kettle River, from Highway 33 in the south up to Coldstream. The riding is mostly agricultural with some loosely populated urban centres like Rutland, Lake Country and Coldstream. West Kelowna-Peachland covers a large geographic area on the westside of Okanagan Lake from just south of Peachland up until Whiteman Creek near Killiney Beach. It includes Trepanier Provincial Park and Fintry Provincial Park along with the namesake urban centres. Do voters show up? In 2020 the voter turnout in Kelowna-Mission was 52 per cent, in Kelowna-Lake Country was 49 per cent. For West Kelowna-Peachland, formerly Kelowna West, 48 per cent of voters came to the ballot box. Since Kelowna Centre is a new riding it doesn't have a voter turnout history, but it was carved out of Kelowna-Mission and Kelowna-Lake Country.  Who to vote for in Kelowna: Kelowna Centre  BC NDP - Loyal Wooldrige https://loyalwooldridge.bcndp.ca/ Loyal Wooldridge was elected to Kelowna City Council in 2018 and served as the director of the Regional District of Central Okanagan. He decided to step down from his municipal and regional roles to focus on his run for MLA. BC Conservative Party - Kristina Loewen https://www.conservativebc.ca/kristina4bc Kristina Loewen works in real estate, has experience as a care aide and as a doula. Loewen’s controversial social media posts were recently released as part of opposition research done by BC United. Independent - Michael Humer https://www.instagram.com/michaelhumerbc/ Dr. Michael Humer was a thoracic surgeon for 20 years and decided to run for BC United Party. When BC United suspended its campaign he kept campaign going as an Independent. BC Green Party - Bryce Tippe https://bcgreens2024.ca/your-candidates/bryce-tippe/?fbclid=IwY2xjawFpN5hleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHUwLJxCEpgD_jM2ZbiYZ_pVldz4-HOxrc8184jgJW56zP7oZGRpJ-SchSA_aem_MzdQvo8143gVqlSoy0HeCQ Bryce Tippe was the first person in his family to go to university and he has a degree in political science. Kelowna-Mission  Independent - Ashley Ramsay https://www.ashramsay.com/ Ashley Ramsay founded an animation studio in Kelowna, Yeti Farm Creative and was BC United’s replacement candidate for incumbent Renee Merrifield. BC Conservative Party - Gavin Dew https://www.conservativebc.ca/dew Gavin Dew ran for the BC Liberals in Vancouver-Mount Pleasant during a byelection back in 2016. He’s worked in business, including entrepreneurial endeavours. BC NDP - Harpreet Badohal https://harpreetbadohal.bcndp.ca/ Harpreet Badohal is a health and safety worker with experience in agriculture. Badohal has lived in Kelowna with his family since 2016. BC Green Party - Billy Young https://bcgreens2024.ca/your-candidates/billy-young-2/ Billy Young worked for the legislature broadcasting the assembly after the pandemic forced him to close his concert production business. READ MORE: New Kelowna-Mission BC Conservative candidate profile omits business failure https://infotel.ca/newsitem/new-kelowna-mission-bc-conservative-candidate-profile-omits-business-failure/it106534 Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream  BC Conservative Party - Tara Armstrong https://www.conservativebc.ca/taraarmstrong Tara Armstrong is originally from Alberta and serves on the party’s board of directors. Armstrong is an entrepreneur and has experience working in aviation. BC NDP - Anna Warwick Sears https://annawarwicksears.bcndp.ca/ Anna Warwick Sears has served as the executive director of the Okanagan Basin Water Board, an organization dedicated to protecting Okanagan’s waterways. Independent - Kevin Kraft https://kevinkraft.ca/   Kevin Kraft was not part of BC United prior to its campaign suspension, he has always been an Independent candidate. Kraft is a former firefighter who is currently the vice-chair of the Regional District of Central Okanagan. BC Green Party - Andrew Rose https://bcgreens2024.ca/your-candidates/andrew-rose/ Andrew Rose is a software engineer who specializes in artificial intelligence. He was initially taken on by the BC Green Party as a field organizer but is now a candidate for the party. READ MORE: Okanagan candidates try to navigate election campaign after BC United drops out https://infotel.ca/newsitem/okanagan-candidates-try-to-navigate-election-campaign-after-bc-united-drops-out/it106346 West Kelowna-Peachland  BC Conservative Party - Macklin McCall https://www.conservativebc.ca/macklinmccall Macklin McCall has lived in the Okanagan his entire life and spent 19 years as an RCMP officer, including some time on a police crisis team. Independent - Stephen Johnston https://stephen-johnston.com/   Stephen Johnston ran under the BC United banner but kept his campaign going as an Independent candidate. He has been a West Kelowna city councillor for six years and served as a regional district director. BC NDP - Krystal Smith https://krystalsmith.bcndp.ca/ Krystal Smith grew up in Kelowna and has worked for the Ministry of Citizen Services, she also helped University of British Columbia Okanagan students get a universal bus pass. To contact a reporter for this story, email Jesse Tomas mailto:jtomas@infonews.ca  or call 250-488-3065 or email the editor mailto:news@infonews.ca . You can also submit photos, videos or news tips to the newsroom mailto:tips@infonews.ca  and be entered to win a monthly prize draw. We welcome your comments and opinions on our stories but play nice. 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