South Okanagan—West Kootenay

South Okanagan—West Kootenay was a new federal riding created by the 2012 redistribution, drawn from portions of the former British Columbia Southern Interior, Kootenay—Columbia, and Okanagan—Coquihalla districts. The riding spans from the semi-arid wine country and orchards of the southern Okanagan Valley through the mountain passes into the West Kootenay region, encompassing communities such as Penticton, Oliver, Osoyoos, Trail, Castlegar, Rossland, Grand Forks, and Nakusp. Its landscapes range from desert grasslands along the Canada-U.S. border to interior rain forests and alpine meadows in the Kootenays.

Candidates

Richard Cannings (NDP) — A biologist and ornithologist born and raised in Penticton, Cannings held a master’s degree in zoology from Memorial University of Newfoundland and served as curator of the Cowan Vertebrate Museum at the University of British Columbia for 15 years. He co-authored several books on the natural history of the Okanagan and was a board member of the Nature Conservancy of Canada from 2006 to 2015.

Marshall Neufeld (Conservative) — A Penticton real estate agent with roots in the riding, Neufeld had previously worked as a parliamentary assistant to former MP Stockwell Day in Ottawa from 2006 to 2008. He ran as a first-time candidate.

Connie Denesiuk (Liberal) — Denesiuk ran as the Liberal candidate and helped the party substantially increase its vote share in the riding compared to the 2011 election.

Samantha Troy (Green Party) and Brian Gray (Independent) also contested the riding.

About the Riding

The southern Okanagan is one of Canada’s premier wine-producing regions, with numerous wineries clustered around Oliver and Osoyoos by 2015. Agriculture—including fruit orchards, vineyards, and vegetable farming—remains central to the local economy, alongside tourism drawn to the area’s lakes, ski resorts, and hiking trails. In the West Kootenay, the Teck smelter in Trail has been the dominant industrial employer for over a century, processing zinc and lead concentrates. The riding is home to some of British Columbia’s most ecologically significant landscapes. Water management, cross-border environmental cooperation with Washington State, and rural healthcare access were prominent local concerns heading into the 2015 election. Retirement migration has steadily increased the population of communities like Penticton and Osoyoos, putting pressure on healthcare infrastructure and housing availability.