Courtenay—Alberni

Spanning the central portion of Vancouver Island from coast to coast, Courtenay—Alberni takes in the Comox Valley communities of Courtenay and Cumberland on the eastern shore and stretches across the mountainous spine of the island to Port Alberni, Tofino, and Ucluelet on the Pacific coast. Created through the 2012 redistribution, the riding covers a large area and includes the communities of Parksville, Qualicum Beach, and Lantzville along the eastern coastline, as well as several First Nations communities.

Candidates

Gord Johns (NDP) — A longtime Tofino resident, Johns had served as a municipal councillor for the District of Tofino, operated a small sustainable products business, and worked as executive director of the Tofino-Long Beach Chamber of Commerce. He won the NDP nomination for the new riding in November 2014 and campaigned on environmental protection and economic diversification.

John Duncan (Conservative) — A veteran parliamentarian who had represented Vancouver Island North since 2008 after previously holding the seat from 1993 to 2006, Duncan served in several senior roles in the Harper government including Minister of Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development and Minister of State and Chief Government Whip. The redistribution meant roughly 85 percent of voters in the new riding had never seen his name on a ballot.

Carrie Powell-Davidson (Liberal) — A two-term city councillor in Parksville, Powell-Davidson focused her campaign on job creation, particularly in manufacturing and value-added resource processing on Vancouver Island.

Glenn Sollitt (Green Party) and Barbara Biley (Marxist-Leninist) also ran in the riding.

About the Riding

The riding's diverse geography produces a varied economy. The Comox Valley, anchored by Courtenay (population approximately 25,000), relies on Canadian Forces Base Comox, healthcare services, tourism, and retirement living. Parksville and Qualicum Beach, popular retirement destinations, draw visitors to their beaches and mild climate.

Port Alberni, a former forestry powerhouse in the Alberni Valley, has been transitioning its economy as the forest industry contracted, with growing emphasis on fishing, tourism, and its deep-water port. The west coast communities of Tofino and Ucluelet serve as gateways to Pacific Rim National Park Reserve and support a tourism-based economy centred on surfing, whale watching, and wilderness recreation.

Federal issues in the riding in 2015 included fisheries management on the west coast, forestry policy, veterans' services related to CFB Comox, and infrastructure investment for rural and remote communities. The environmental balance between resource extraction and the region's tourism economy was a recurring theme throughout the campaign.