North Island--Powell River

North Island--Powell River is the largest federal riding on Vancouver Island, extending from the Comox Valley northward to Port Hardy at the island's tip, then crossing Johnstone Strait to include the mainland communities of Powell River and Texada Island. The riding's population is distributed among communities including Campbell River, Comox, Powell River, Port McNeill, Port Hardy, and Alert Bay, connected by hundreds of kilometres of highway through temperate rainforest.

Candidates

Rachel Blaney (NDP) -- Raised in Terrace, British Columbia, by an adoptive Stellat'en First Nation family, Blaney earned a Bachelor of Arts in First Nations Studies from Malaspina University-College (now Vancouver Island University). After moving to Campbell River in 1998, she worked with the Homalco First Nation and later became executive director of the Immigrant Welcome Centre of North Vancouver Island. First elected in 2015, she served as the NDP's deputy whip and critic for veterans affairs.

Shelley Downey (Conservative) -- Born in Fort St. John and raised in Prince George and Hudson's Hope, Downey moved to Vancouver Island in 1991. A graduate in business administration and accounting from Grande Prairie Regional College, she had business experience spanning the fishing, tourism, and helicopter sectors. She served four terms on Port McNeill's town council and previously sat as a school trustee in School District 85.

Mark de Bruijn (Green Party) -- A former elementary school principal on Cortes Island, de Bruijn had also worked as a science teacher, college lecturer, and biologist for Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans. He had lived in the riding for over two decades and had spent 21 years with an international network focused on cooperative governance and sustainable development.

Peter Schwarzhoff (Liberal) -- A Campbell River resident, Schwarzhoff was a retired meteorologist and Canadian Armed Forces veteran who had spent 30 years as a meteorologist, air quality researcher, and science manager with Environment Canada. He was making his second run for federal office, having also been the Liberal candidate in the riding in 2015.

Brian Rundle (People's Party), Glen Staples (Independent), and Carla Neal (Marxist-Leninist) also stood as candidates.

About the Riding

The economy of North Island--Powell River is rooted in natural resources. Campbell River, historically marketed as the "Salmon Capital of the World," functions as a service centre for forestry, aquaculture, and mining operations across the northern island. Powell River, accessible only by ferry or floatplane from the Lower Mainland, grew around its pulp and paper mill and had been working to diversify its economy by attracting retirees, artists, and remote workers. The northern communities of Port McNeill and Port Hardy depend on forestry, fishing, and a growing ecotourism industry, with Port Hardy serving as the southern terminus of the BC Ferries Inside Passage route to Prince Rupert. Johnstone Strait is the summer home of a resident population of orca whales, sustaining whale-watching tourism centred on communities like Telegraph Cove and Alert Bay. Fisheries management, open-net salmon farming, rural broadband access, health care delivery across vast distances, and ferry service affordability were all prominent campaign issues in 2019.