Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola

Three distinct valleys converge in Central Okanagan—Similkameen—Nicola, a riding that sweeps from the western shores of Okanagan Lake through the semi-arid Similkameen corridor to the ranching town of Merritt in the Nicola Valley. West Kelowna, Peachland, and Summerland anchor the lakeside portion of the riding, while Princeton serves as the hub of the Similkameen, and Merritt sits at the crossroads of several interior highways.

Candidates

Dan Albas (Conservative) — First elected in 2011 in the predecessor riding of Okanagan—Coquihalla, Albas grew up in Penticton and operated a martial arts studio before entering politics. He served on Penticton City Council and was active with the local Chamber of Commerce, earning a young entrepreneur of the year award in 2005. In the outgoing Parliament, he had served as Parliamentary Secretary to the President of the Treasury Board.

Mary Ann Murphy (Liberal) — An associate professor at UBC Okanagan with a PhD in health and social policy, Murphy was the university's leading expert on seniors and aging. Her career included work as a juvenile probation officer, social planning consultant, and strategic planner for the Government of Ontario and a 500-bed chronic care hospital.

Joan Phillip (NDP) — A lands administrator with the Penticton Indian Band for two decades, Phillip was born into the Tsleil-Waututh Nation in North Vancouver and married into the Okanagan in 1984. Her grandfather was the acclaimed actor and writer Chief Dan George, and her husband, Grand Chief Stewart Phillip, served as president of the Union of BC Indian Chiefs and was a prominent advocate for Indigenous rights and environmental protection in the region.

Robert Mellalieu (Green Party) — A Similkameen-area resident, Mellalieu had also carried the Green Party banner in the riding in 2015. He campaigned on urgent climate action and opposition to pipeline expansion.

Allan Duncan (People's Party) and Jesse Regier (Libertarian) also appeared on the ballot.

About the Riding

The Okanagan corridor is defined by viticulture and fruit orchards. The Central Okanagan is where British Columbia's commercial wine industry took root, and the region is now home to dozens of licensed grape wineries alongside craft producers. The Similkameen Valley, sometimes called the organic capital of Canada, is known for sustainable small-scale agriculture. Wine tourism draws over a million visitors annually to the broader Okanagan, generating hundreds of millions of dollars.

Tree fruit orchards — primarily apples, cherries, peaches, and apricots — have been cultivated here for more than a century, though the sector faces competition from imported produce and pressure from vineyard and residential conversion. In the Nicola Valley around Merritt, ranching dominates the landscape; the Douglas Lake Ranch, one of the largest working cattle operations in North America, has operated since the 1880s.

West Kelowna and Peachland serve as bedroom communities for Kelowna across the lake, connected by the William R. Bennett Bridge. The riding's population skews older than the provincial average, reflecting the Okanagan's popularity as a retirement destination. Water management, wildfire preparedness, and agricultural irrigation infrastructure were key federal concerns in 2019, alongside healthcare access for rural communities spread across the riding's considerable geography.