University of Victoria student William Nelson is the latest candidate to be declared in the Langford-Juan de Fuca riding for the 2017 provincial election.
Nelson, 27, will run for the Vancouver Island Party, having been introduced by party leader Robin Richardson at a meet and greet in Victoria on Saturday.
Having grown up in the Comox and Thompson River valleys, Nelson has spent much of his young life travelling and working in South America and Australia and aims to bring a fresh perspective to the race. Active politically since he was relatively young, he intends to be “an effective voice of the voiceless.”
“We are under represented federally and provincially,” Nelson said. “The predominant voting pattern here is NDP, so our current Liberal government don’t represent constituents on Vancouver Island very well.”
In his initial trips around the riding, especially around Port Renfrew, Jordan River and Sooke, he said he has received a good reception for the party’s ideas. The Vancouver Island Party’s stated aim is to see the Island become a separate province in Confederation in Canada.
Nelson is the fourth candidate to declare in the riding, following NDP leader John Horgan, the B.C. Liberals Kathy Noel and the Green Party’s Brendan Ralfs.
Election day is May 9 across British Columbia.
editor@goldstreamgazette.com
