The B.C. NDP will run candidates in 92 of the province’s 93 ridings in the Oct. 24 snap election, leaving Peace River North without a party nominee.
On the ballot for the riding are Independent Jordan Kealy and Conservative Party candidate Curtis Whitford.
The BC Conservatives are running a full slate of candidates in all 93 ridings. The BC Green Party is running 73 candidates, CentreBC 35, and OneBC 33.
Kealy, who was elected under the Conservative Party of B.C. banner in 2024 with 74.4 percent of the vote, was the MLA for Peace River North before the election was called, sitting as an Independent. The candidate iis currently fighting a sexual assault charge, which he denies.
Located in northeastern B.C., the riding includes Fort St. John, Fort Nelson, Taylor, and Hudson’s Hope. The deadline for candidate registration in the election was 1 p.m. on Oct. 3.
“Weird, I got 154 signatures in one day… and I think I was the 4th candidate approved by BCElections,” Kealy wrote on social media following the deadline that day.
NDP leader David Eby says paperwork prevented his party from running a candidate in the riidinig.
“But I will tell you, that I have got 92 amazing candidates in this province, that I would put against any of the Conservative candidates that they are putting forward,” he said.
The governing B.C. NDP announced the snap election on Sept. 22.
Major parties have run incomplete slates in B.C. elections in the past, particularly smaller parties with limited organizational resources. However, the NDP’s omission is notable because it is the governing party and called the snap election itself.
In the 2024 race in Peace River North, the Conservatives won the riding with 74 percent of the vote, followed by incumbent Dan Davies, who ran as an Independent, with 20 percent. The NDP received 5 percent of the vote in the riding.
The Canadian Press contributed to this report.
