The list of names on the ballot has been finalized and voters in the riding of Central Okanagan-Similkameen-Nicola will have six choices in the upcoming federal election.
A Libertarian Party of Canada candidate has been added to the list, while Brynn Jones, who had earlier announced he was running as the Marijuana Party candidate, is no longer on the candidate list.
“I am saddened to announce I have to step out of election due to an unforeseen family issue,” Jones said. “I will continue to fight for my constituents in my riding and across Canada and will continue my duties as West Canada Director for the party.”
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He said his personal scheduling conflicts with forums and with the last month of campaigning.
Nominations closed on Monday, Sept. 30, and while the complete list of confirmed candidates was not available by press time on Tuesday, representatives from the Elections Canada office for the riding of Central Okanagan-Similkameen-Nicola said there are six names on the ballot.
The Sept. 30 date was the deadline for candidates to be added to the ballot or to withdraw their names.
The candidates are Dan Albas of the Conservative Party of Canada, Mary Ann Murphy of the Liberal Party, Robert Mellalieu of the Green Party, Joan C. Phillip of the New Democratic Party, Allan G. Duncan of the People’s Party of Canada and Jesse Regier of the Libertarian Party of Canada.
The election will be held on Oct. 21.
Albas was elected in 2011 and re-elected in 2015.
In the 2015 election, Albas received 39.56 per cent of the votes, while Liberal candidate Karley Scott had 37.21 per cent, New Democratic Party candidate Angelique Wood had 19.3 per cent and Green Party candidate Mellalieu had 3.93 per cent.
The Conservative Party support in this election was considerably lower than in past elections.
In 2011, Albas had 54.59 per cent support, while the New Democrats finished with 26.05 per cent, the Liberals earned 10.06 per cent and the Greens had 7.76 per cent.
Before this electoral district was formed, the Okanagan-Coqhihalla riding consist
In earlier elections, the former Okanagan-Coquihalla electoral district tended to vote strongly for Conservative, Canadian Alliance or Reform Party candidates.
The last time the region voted for a candidate not from a right-leaning party was in 1998, when New Democratic Party candidate Jack Whittaker defeated Progressive Conservative Fred King.
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