Courtenay—Alberni

Stretching across Vancouver Island's mountainous spine from the Comox Valley on the east coast to Tofino and Ucluelet on the Pacific, Courtenay—Alberni covers more than 8,500 square kilometres and takes in communities as varied as the retirement havens of Parksville and Qualicum Beach, the former forestry town of Port Alberni, and the surf destination of Tofino. The riding includes eleven First Nations communities in the traditional territories of the Nuu-chah-nulth, Coast Salish, and K'omoks peoples.

Candidates

Gord Johns (NDP) — A longtime Tofino resident who had lived in the riding for more than two decades, Johns operated a sustainable products store in Tofino for 13 years before entering politics. He served as a municipal councillor in Tofino and as executive director of the Tofino-Long Beach Chamber of Commerce. First elected in 2015, he held NDP critic roles in small business, tourism, and veterans affairs.

Byron Horner (Conservative) — A Parksville-based businessman with deep roots on Vancouver Island, Horner campaigned on public safety, highlighting that both Port Alberni and Courtenay had appeared on lists of communities with elevated crime rates, and on protecting wild salmon stocks.

Sean Wood (Green Party) — A Parksville resident originally from Orillia, Ontario, Wood owned a small graphic design business and spent five years as a volunteer firefighter in Parksville. He won the Green nomination at Hupacasath Hall in Port Alberni in June 2019 and campaigned on climate action and opposition to open-net fish farms.

Jonah Baden Gowans (Liberal) — Employed at the BC Legislature in Victoria at the time of the campaign, Gowans focused on leveraging federal infrastructure investment to support local governments, creating local jobs, and environmental protection.

Barbara Biley (Marxist-Leninist) also ran in the riding.

About the Riding

The Comox Valley, centred on Courtenay with a population of roughly 25,000, is home to Canadian Forces Base Comox, one of the region's major employers. Healthcare, tourism, and retirement living round out the valley's economic base. Parksville and Qualicum Beach draw retirees and vacationers to their mild climate and sandy beaches.

Port Alberni sits at the head of the Alberni Inlet, the longest inlet on Vancouver Island. Once heavily dependent on forestry and fishing, the town has worked to diversify through tourism and outdoor recreation, serving as a gateway to the West Coast Trail and Bamfield Marine Sciences Centre. Tofino and Ucluelet flank Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, one of Canada's most visited national parks, and support an economy built on surfing, storm-watching, and wilderness tourism.

Fisheries management — particularly the decline of wild salmon and the debate over open-net fish farming — was a defining issue in the riding. Housing affordability plagued resort communities where vacation rental demand had driven prices beyond the reach of local workers. Veterans' services connected to CFB Comox, forestry policy, and infrastructure investment for rural and remote communities also featured prominently in the 2019 campaign.