British Columbians will be going to the polls on October 24, but in the Powell River-Sunshine Coast constituency, there is still not a full slate of candidates from the three major parties.
Incumbent Powell River-Sunshine Coast MLA Nicholas Simons, a member of the New Democratic Party caucus, will be running for his fifth term in provincial office. In the 2017 general election, Simons won with 13,646 votes, just shy of 51 per cent of the vote. Simons was named as the candidate for the coming provincial election by acclamation.
The BC Liberals, with candidate Mathew Wilson, finished second in the 2017 general election with 6,602 votes. According to a BC Liberals spokesperson, the party does not yet have a candidate for the Powell River-Sunshine Coast constituency in the upcoming election, but the party hopes to announce someone soon.
Close behind the Liberals in the 2017 general election was the BC Green Party, with Kim Darwin, the candidate, polling 6,505 votes. Darwin, in a Facebook post, said it was with great sadness and regret that she had made the difficult decision not to run for a BC Green MLA position in the coming election. Darwin just ran for the leadership of the BC Green Party and exhausted the funds she had set aside for her electoral runs. She stated she does not have the financial resources available to take time away from her business to run the calibre of campaign necessary to win.
The constituency association for the BC Greens has indicated that it does not have a candidate yet in Powell River-Sunshine Coast. An announcement will be made later.
With the COVID-19 pandemic, it is expected that there will be a significant demand for mail-in packages. According to its website, Elections BC is closely monitoring the COVID-19 pandemic and is taking all necessary steps to ensure the next provincial election remains safe and accessible for all voters. Information on mail-in ballots and other details can be found online at elections.bc.ca.
The Elections BC site also has important information such as how to register to vote and how to vote safely.
This year’s general election is atypical in that it will be held on a Saturday.
