Cowichan—Malahat—Langford

From the booming suburban city of Langford on the outskirts of Victoria, this riding climbs northward over the steep and winding Malahat highway to the agricultural heartland of the Cowichan Valley, then extends west to Lake Cowichan and the remote coastal community of Port Renfrew. The riding spans roughly 4,500 square kilometres of terrain ranging from suburban subdivisions to old-growth rainforest on the Pacific coast.

Candidates

Alistair MacGregor (NDP) — Born in Victoria and raised in Duncan, MacGregor held degrees from the University of Victoria and Royal Roads University. Before entering Parliament, he worked as a tree-planting supervisor, a millworker, and a constituency assistant to former NDP MP Jean Crowder. First elected in 2015, he sought a second term representing the riding.

Alana DeLong (Conservative) — A former four-term Alberta MLA who represented the Calgary-Bow constituency as a Progressive Conservative from 2001 to 2015, DeLong was born in Nelson, BC, and held a Bachelor of Science in mathematics from the University of British Columbia. She spent more than 20 years in the information technology industry before entering politics and had also run as a BC Liberal candidate in the 2017 provincial election in Nanaimo—North Cowichan.

Lydia Hwitsum (Green Party) — A lawyer and former chief of the Cowichan Tribes who served in that role for eight years, Hwitsum held several federal appointments, including to the board of directors of the International Centre for Human Rights and Democratic Development. Environmental activist David Suzuki spoke at a campaign rally for her at the Westin Bear Mountain Resort in Langford during the campaign.

Blair Herbert (Liberal) — A farmer, beekeeper, realtor, and former RCMP officer based in the Cowichan Valley, Herbert campaigned on affordable housing and economic development for the riding.

Rhonda Chen (People's Party) and Robin Morton Stanbridge (Christian Heritage Party) also appeared on the ballot.

About the Riding

Langford, with a population approaching 40,000, was among the fastest-growing municipalities in British Columbia. Once a semi-rural bedroom community for Victoria, it had transformed through intensive residential and commercial development, with big-box retail along the Langford Parkway corridor and new housing subdivisions climbing surrounding hillsides.

The Cowichan Valley, centred on Duncan and the Municipality of North Cowichan, has a more rural and agricultural character. The Cowichan Tribes, one of the largest First Nations bands in British Columbia with more than 5,000 members, are based near Duncan. The warm Cowichan Valley is one of the few areas on Vancouver Island with a climate suitable for wine grapes, and the region also supports forestry and tourism.

The Malahat — a steep, winding stretch of the Trans-Canada Highway that climbs over the Malahat Summit — physically divides the riding and was a persistent transportation concern, with ongoing discussions about safety improvements. Port Renfrew on the Pacific coast serves as the southern trailhead for the West Coast Trail. Housing affordability driven by Greater Victoria's expanding real estate market, forestry policy, and First Nations relations were central issues in the 2019 campaign.