NANAIMO — An extremely close race provincially, which had to be settled by a pair of judicial recounts, was not reflected locally during October’s B.C. election.
The BC NDP won another term in government by the thinnest of margins, helped in large part to a somewhat-unexpected sweep of the four central Vancouver Island ridings.
Sheila Malcolmson and Josie Osborne comfortably won their ridings of Nanaimo-Gabriola and Mid-Island Pacific Rim, respectively, however it was both Nanaimo-Lantzville and Ladysmith-Oceanside which provided some surprises.
Nanaimo-Lantzville was a high-profile battle between former MLA Gwen O’Mahony from the BC Conservatives and former Nanaimo City Councillor George Anderson from the NDP.
O’Mahony was a focal point locally for the Conservative campaign, making a serious of videos around healthcare and community safety, including one involving a since-removed harm reduction kiosk for those using drugs at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital.
The video thrust her and Nanaimo into the provincial spotlight and led to government action to remove the machines in Nanaimo and other Island hospitals less than a week later.
Dale Parker and Gwen O’Mahony talk with supporters at a north Nanaimo restaurant, falling short in each of their races. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)Anderson relied in large part to his existing presence and background in Nanaimo and ultimately proved victorious.
The riding, projected by pollsters to be one of the last settled in B.C., was instead called quite early and saw the BC NDP keep their grips on ridings on the mid-Island.
Anderson, in a late-night victory speech at a campaign party held in Nanaimo said how honoured he was to be elected in the riding.
“What I found tonight is that the people of Naniamo-Lantzville chose hope, a fair society and a strong economy that does not treat people poorly because of where they came from. I can tell you I will work every single day…to make sure that we have a strong economy, better healthcare and everyone has the best type of access to what Nanaimo is, a place of prosperity.”
Newly re-drawn ridings for the election saw a unique configuration created encompassing areas both north and south of Nanaimo.
Ladysmith-Oceanside was again forecast to be a tight race, this time among three candidates with BC NDP Stephanie Higginson ultimately winning over Conservative Brett Fee and incumbent independent Adam Walker.
Higginson, a former SD68 school trustee, said she was a mixture of “ecstatic and humbled” to be elected.
“I’ve already started building those relations and I’m looking forward to strengthening them and representing the people of all of Ladysmith-Oceanside. When I was president of BCSTA, I represented 60 school boards with 60 political views and 60 different geographies and I think I’ve got the skillset to make this happen.”
Josie Osborne will return to Victoria as MLA for Mid-Island Pacific Rim (David Wiwchar/93.3 The Peak)All four would earn additional responsibilities in Premier David Eby’s narrow majority government as they were sworn into their positions in November.
Malcolmson returned to her previous post of minister of social development and poverty reduction, while Osborne was handed the high-profile health ministry position replacing long-time health minister Adrian Dix.
Anderson was named parliamentary secretary overseeing transit, while Higginson will serve as NDP caucus chair.
Eby and the NDP clung to power via the narrowest of margins, carrying 47 seats in the Legislature, ahead of the Conservatives with 44 and the BC Greens with two.
The Greens and NDP signed an agreement in December to work together on a number of key issues, with the goal of stabilizing government over the next four years.
George Anderson (left) and Sheila Malcolmson (right) will represent the Nanaimo area in the Legislature, after winning their respective ridings Saturday. (Jordan Davidson/NanaimoNewsNOW)Subscribe to our daily news wrap. Local news delivered to your email inbox every evening. Stay up to date on everything Nanaimo and Oceanside.
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