North Okanagan—Shuswap, BC — 2015 Federal Election Results Map
North Okanagan—Shuswap — 2015 Election Results
📌 The Canadian federal electoral district of North Okanagan—Shuswap was contested in the 2015 election.
🏆 Mel Arnold, the Conservative candidate, won the riding with 27,490 votes (39.3% of the vote).
🥈 The runner-up was Cindy Derkaz (Liberal) with 20,949 votes (29.9%), defeated by a margin of 6,541 votes.
📊 Other notable candidates: Jacqui Gingras (NDP-New Democratic Party, 26%) and Chris George (Green Party, 5%).
Riding information
Auto generated. Flag an issue.North Okanagan—Shuswap
Stretching across the interior of British Columbia, North Okanagan—Shuswap encompasses the communities along Highway 97 from Coldstream to Shuswap Lake and along Highway 1 from Chase to Malakwa. The riding takes in the cities of Vernon, Salmon Arm, Armstrong, Enderby, and Lumby, covering a landscape of rolling ranchland, orchards, and forested hills between the North Okanagan and Shuswap regions.
Candidates
Mel Arnold (Conservative) — A lifelong resident of the Shuswap, Arnold was raised on a family dairy farm in Notch Hill near Shuswap Lake. He operated a small business in Salmon Arm and served as president of the BC Wildlife Federation, sitting on the board of the Canadian Wildlife Federation. He also served on Salmon Arm's environmental advisory council for eight years and was appointed to the BC government's Species at Risk Task Force in 2010.
Cindy Derkaz (Liberal) — A Salmon Arm lawyer, Derkaz graduated from law school in 1978, articled in Salmon Arm, and eventually opened her own practice. She served as president of the Shuswap Community Foundation and received the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012 for community service. This was her first run for elected office.
Jacqui Gingras (NDP) — A resident of Falkland in the riding's interior, Gingras was an associate professor of sociology at Ryerson University in Toronto. She was selected by local NDP members to carry the party's banner in the newly drawn riding.
Chris George (Green Party) — A Notch Hill resident, George was a student at Thompson Rivers University.
About the Riding
The riding was created through the 2012 federal redistribution, succeeding the former Okanagan—Shuswap riding held by Conservative Colin Mayes from 2006 to 2015. The regional economy rests on forestry, agriculture, and tourism. Sawmills and plywood plants in Armstrong and the Salmon Arm area anchor the forestry sector, while orchards, vineyards, and ranches dot the landscape from Vernon north to the Shuswap. Tourism is a growing force, with Shuswap Lake attracting visitors for houseboating and recreation, and the North Okanagan drawing wine tourists. Federal issues in the 2015 campaign included natural resource management, rural infrastructure investment, and the Trans-Pacific Partnership's potential impact on the agricultural sector.
