PENTICTON — Eleven days after the writ dropped, British Columbians are navigating two overlapping electoral calendars against the backdrop of a summer scarred by disaster, as Summerland rescinds its final evacuation orders from the devastating Bald Range wildfire.
The August blaze burned over 25,000 hectares, destroyed approximately 150 structures across Summerland, Faulder, and Meadow Valley, displaced 20,000 residents, and claimed one life.
As Okanagan communities pivot from wildfire recovery to political campaigns, local candidate nomination deadlines loom Saturday at 1 p.m. Pacific. Civic voting day is set for Saturday, October 17, while provincial advance voting opens Friday, October 16, running through October 21. Final voting day for the provincial election is Saturday, October 24.
Doerkson set for Summerland
The itineraries for the major provincial party leaders are set for Friday, with BC Conservative interim leader Lorne Doerkson set for an appearance in Summerland.
Global BC reporter Ben O'Hara-Byrne shared the Friday campaign sheet at 6:29 a.m. PDT.
"On the campaign today," O'Hara-Byrne wrote. "BC Conservative leader Lorne Doerkson is in Summerland this AM. NDP's David Eby is also in the Okanagan in Kelowna with an affordability-related announcement. Green leader Emily Lowan to talk about AI-related policy in Victoria."
Earlier in the campaign, David Eby repeatedly invoked Donald Trump, mentioning the former US president more than 20 times outside Government House on writ day while calling on British Columbians to build a "firebreak" against American trade threats and "Trump-style politics."
Meanwhile, a resurfaced video from 2021 showing Doerkson on the front lines with a hose, physically fighting a wildfire near 100 Mile House, went viral online.
The clip handed Conservatives a vivid visual contrast: while Eby used a wildfire metaphor to score political points against Trump, Doerkson was putting out actual fires.
Eby has since abandoned the campaign metaphor.
Doerkson, the incumbent MLA for Cariboo-Chilcotin, is campaigning in Penticton-Summerland today.
Incumbent New Democrat Amelia Boultbee, who previously crossed the floor, confirmed Monday she will not seek re-election.
The BC NDP further confirmed later this week that she will be replaced on the local ticket with their failed 2024 candidate Tina Lee.
OneBC nominated Warren Hamm for the riding on September 16, with the Conservatives confirming 2024 Independent candidate Tracy St. Claire earlier this week.
Castanet reported Thursday that Summerland rescinded the last remaining evacuation orders from the Bald Range wildfire, just ahead of Doerkson's appearance.
Eby set for nearby Kelowna, pivots to affordability
NDP Leader David Eby is also set for a day in the Okanagan in nearby Kelowna. He had not publicly posted details regarding his Kelowna stop by Friday morning.
His most recent social update, posted Thursday at 6:21 p.m. PDT, highlighted an industrial agreement involving a pulp mill in another region of the province.
"A resolution has been reached to restart the Howe Sound Pulp Mill," Eby wrote, linking a CityNews report. "This has been an unbearably stressful few weeks for the 400 workers and their families." Eby did not release the financial terms of the mill agreement.
The post followed a Thursday morning appearance outside of a Surrey gas station where he outlined a proposal to cut fuel costs by up to 30 cents a litre through a 10-cent provincial gas-tax suspension and a BC Utilities Commission price guard designed to claw back 20 cents in retail margin.
Friday's itinerary lists an affordability announcement in Kelowna without specifying what the measures will be.
Green Leader Lowan focuses on artificial intelligence policy in Victoria
Green Party Leader Emily Lowan did not issue a Victoria media advisory prior to Friday morning's itinerary lock, but has previously established artificial intelligence as a party policy focus.
In March, Lowan called on Rick Glumac, Minister of State for AI, to divest from an AI-linked investment fund. She followed in May with a call for a moratorium on AI data center construction across the province.
Friday's stop was billed broadly as an AI-related policy announcement. Lowan is contesting Saanich North and the Islands against Conservative designate Ryan Windsor, though Friday's sheet placed her in Victoria proper rather than inside her home constituency.
Clark walks back 'dumb woman' accusation
Christy Clark walked back a comment she made Tuesday regarding liquefied natural gas. She had previously claimed Premier David Eby and former premier John Horgan called her "a ridiculous, dumb woman who had come up with this idea that would never work" for pursuing LNG.
"Well, guess what? It worked," she said at the time.
CTV News Vancouver published her walk-back at 5:30 p.m. PDT Thursday.
When questioned Thursday, Clark told CTV that neither man "ever said it out loud — and they didn't." However, she maintained that their tone remained demeaning, describing it as "talking to a little girl, some little dreamer who had a fantasy about the future and was just making it up as she went along."
She characterized the New Democrat criticism as "dog whistles" aimed at appealing to people who "hold sexist attitudes."
CTV reported that Clark is actively campaigning alongside the BC Conservatives, though she is not running as a candidate on any ballot.
Eby addressed the accusation Thursday morning.
Eby flatly rejected the claim as a lie.
"I disagreed with her lowering our standards to try to attract natural gas companies," Eby told CTV, calling her story "ridiculous" and "completely false." He added that the statement was "no surprise from the Conservative campaign."
The double dip
Lumby Mayor Kevin Acton is pulling double duty on two separate election ballots. He is running to retain his mayor's chair in the Village of Lumby on October 17, while simultaneously campaigning as the BC Conservative candidate in Vernon-Lumby for the October 24 provincial election.
Vernon Morning Star reporter Roger Knox broke the story at 11:52 a.m. Thursday.
The Conservatives officially named Acton as their candidate on Sunday.
Acton has served as mayor since 2009 and is seeking a sixth civic term against mayoral challenger Brad Weston. Four councillors — Randal Ostafichuk, Geoff Bevan, Sherry Kineshanko, and Lori Mindnich — won re-election by acclamation.
In the provincial race, Acton faces NDP incumbent Harwinder Sandhu, who defeated him in 2024, alongside OneBC's Chantel Gibbs.
Acton announced on social media that he will personally fund a mayoral byelection if he wins both races.
"If I have the privilege of being elected Mayor of Lumby, and then being elected as the Conservative Party of British Columbia MLA for Vernon–Lumby, I will personally cover the cost of holding a proper mayoral by-election in Lumby, to the extent permitted by law," Acton wrote, asking why taxpayers should foot the bill for a vote "you didn't choose."
Acton referred to the provincial contest as a byelection, though Premier David Eby called a general election on September 22. Whether municipal law permits a candidate to personally pay for a village election remains an open question.
Councillor Ostafichuk confirmed he will run for mayor if a byelection occurs. Meanwhile, Weston stated that if Acton wins the provincial seat and Weston secures the mayoralty, he will work cooperatively with Acton, adding that Lumby voters need "a dedicated mayor who wants to be here."
BC Greens nominate 'woke' coroner
The BC Greens announced former chief coroner Lisa Lapointe as their candidate in Saanich South on Thursday, pairing her nomination with a toxic-drug platform that advocates for a regulated drug supply.
Western Standard published the nomination news at 11:40 a.m. PDT. Lapointe served as BC's chief coroner from 2011 until her retirement in 2024. While the party profile lists her law degree, it confirms she holds no medical degree.
By BC Green standards anyway, Lapointe is something of a ‘star candidate’ — someone with name recognition and a previously held high-level role in government.
Lapointe faces former legislative reporter Richard Zussman for the NDP and Cathie Ounsted for the BC Conservatives. Ounsted previously sat on the Central Saanich Police Board and chaired the Victoria Airport Authority.
Agriculture Minister Lana Popham, first elected in 2009, announced Monday she will not seek a sixth term. Popham expressed sadness at leaving public life while stressing the need to protect food security and the Agricultural Land Reserve.
Green candidate Emily Lowan unveiled Lapointe's candidacy alongside the party’s drug policy.
Lapointe told CBC that overcoming the "toxic drug crisis" requires politicians to "show leadership" by providing regulated alternatives to street drugs, expanding voluntary treatment, and offering equitable healthcare and housing access.
The Green platform proposes a regulated supply, additional supervised consumption sites, and expanded public and transitional housing.
During Lapointe’s tenure as chief coroner, a death-review panel recommended providing "non-prescription safer supply."
That push for non-prescription safer supply received a major legal jolt this week. In a watershed ruling, BC Supreme Court Justice Catherine Murray struck down Section 5(2) of the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act (the federal ban on possession for the purpose of trafficking) finding it unconstitutionally deprives drug users of "life, liberty, and the security of person" by barring non-medical "compassion clubs."
While Justice Murray stayed the criminal charges against DULF co-founders Jeremy Kalicum and Eris Nyx and suspended her declaration for six months, the ruling lands directly in the middle of the election campaign.
Lapointe herself testified as a witness in the DULF trial prior to her nomination, establishing her squarely on the front line of the legal fight over unregulated "toxic drugs" and the overdose crisis in British Columbia.
