Seven candidates run for MP’s job in B.C.’s Nanaimo-Ladysmith byelection

NANAIMO, B.C. – Voters are heading to the polls to elect a member of Parliament in the British Columbia riding of Nanaimo-Ladysmith today in what could be an indicator of the October federal election.

The leaders of the Liberals, Conservatives, Greens, NDP and the People’s Party of Canada have all visited the riding since the byelection was called.

David Black, a political communications expert at Royal Roads University in Victoria, says that highlights the importance of the vote so close to a federal election.

He says the parties would have used the byelection as a study for political messaging before the Oct. 21 general election.

There was a 75 per cent turnout when New Democrat Sheila Malcolmson won the riding in 2015, and Black says such a high return can lead to a less predictable race.

Malcolmson won with 33 per cent of the vote, while the Liberal and Conservative candidates both received over 23 per cent support and the Green candidate took almost 20 per cent of votes.