Voters face choice between a B.C. Conservative or Independent candidate.
Voters in B.C.’s Peace River North riding face just two choices in the 2026 provincial snap election: B.C. Conservative candidate Curtis Whitford or Independent candidate Jordan Kealy.
No other parties are on the ballot, including the B.C. NDP, whose leader called the election.
While residents have limited options, University of Northern B.C. political science professor Jason Morris says it’s unlikely to change the outcome in a region that has historically elected conservative candidates.
In the last election, Kealy was elected after running with the B.C. Conservatives before leaving to sit as an Independent.
Judy Fox-McGuire, a former B.C. NDP candidate in 2013, finds the situation disappointing and feels there’s a lack of respect for differing opinions in today’s political climate, noting that discourse on social media has made calm conversations difficult.
Peace River North is the only riding of 93 without an NDP candidate this year; previous candidates in 2020 and 2024 were paper candidates from outside the region.
The B.C. Greens haven’t run in the riding since 2009, and Ian Gartshore from Nanaimo intended to do so this year but couldn’t gather enough signatures in time, citing the complex vetting process for Green Party candidates.
-with files from Tom Summer CBC.ca
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