West Vancouver--Sunshine Coast--Sea to Sky Country

West Vancouver — Sunshine Coast — Sea to Sky Country is one of British Columbia's most geographically dramatic ridings, stretching from the affluent slopes of West Vancouver across Howe Sound to the Sunshine Coast communities of Gibsons and Sechelt, then north through Squamish and Whistler to Pemberton and the southern reaches of the Squamish–Lillooet Regional District. The riding also includes Bowen Island, Lions Bay, and several smaller Gulf Islands. With a 2021 population of approximately 131,206 — a 10.2% increase from 2016 — the district encompasses coastal fjords, temperate rainforest, alpine peaks, and some of the most expensive real estate in British Columbia. At 48 characters, the riding's name was long the longest of any federal electoral district in Canada.

Candidates

Patrick Weiler (Liberal) Born and raised in West Vancouver and Sechelt, Weiler is the son of UBC law professor Joe Weiler and former Sechelt municipal councillor Beverly Tanchak. He earned a Bachelor of Arts from McGill University and a Juris Doctor from UBC, then built a legal career focused on environmental and Aboriginal law — including collaboration at the United Nations on aquatic ecosystem management and representation of First Nations, municipalities, and non-profits on environmental matters. First elected in 2019, he was the first Liberal to win re-election in the riding.

John Weston (Conservative) An international lawyer educated at Harvard in international relations and at Osgoode Hall Law School, Weston served as the riding's MP from 2008 to 2015. During his two terms he worked to preserve the Department of Fisheries lab in West Vancouver, addressed the issue of abandoned vessels along the coast, and championed a National Health and Fitness Day bill. He returned to seek the seat after sitting out the 2019 election.

Avi Lewis (NDP) A journalist, filmmaker, and activist, Lewis hosted programs for Citytv, CBC, and Al Jazeera English before turning to documentary filmmaking. With his wife, author Naomi Klein, he directed the documentaries The Take and This Changes Everything. In 2015 he co-launched the Leap Manifesto, a policy framework proposing sweeping economic and environmental reforms to address climate change, inequality, and colonialism.

Mike Simpson (Green Party) A documentary filmmaker and former executive director of the British Columbia Council for International Cooperation, Simpson founded One Sky: Canadian Institute of Sustainable Living. A resident of the Sunshine Coast, he ran a campaign that notably eschewed plastic signage in keeping with his environmental principles.

About the Riding

The riding's character is defined by the interplay of extraordinary natural geography and divergent community identities. West Vancouver — with its North Shore mountain backdrop, waterfront estates, and median household incomes among the highest in Canada — anchors the riding's eastern end. The municipality's British Properties neighbourhood and waterfront along Marine Drive are home to some of the most valuable residential real estate in the country. English is the dominant language (76.9%), though Mandarin (4.4%) and Persian (3.8%) reflect significant immigrant communities, and nearly half of residents report no religious affiliation.

Crossing Howe Sound — either by ferry to Bowen Island and the Sunshine Coast or by the Sea-to-Sky Highway north — the riding's character shifts dramatically. Gibsons, Sechelt, and Powell River are artsy, independent-minded coastal communities accessible primarily by BC Ferries, with economies built on tourism, the creative sector, and retirement. Squamish, once a forestry and mining town, has transformed into one of the fastest-growing communities in British Columbia, driven by its proximity to Vancouver, world-class rock climbing and mountain biking, and a growing technology and trades sector.

Whistler, host of the alpine and Nordic events at the 2010 Winter Olympics, is one of North America's premier ski resorts and drives a tourism economy that supports thousands of seasonal and year-round jobs. Housing affordability in Whistler and Squamish was among the most acute issues in the 2021 campaign — resort town economics have long squeezed workers into overcrowded rentals, and pandemic-era migration from Vancouver accelerated price increases throughout the Sea-to-Sky corridor. The riding's vast geography and limited highway infrastructure — the Sea-to-Sky Highway is the sole road link between Squamish, Whistler, and the Lower Mainland — also raise concerns about emergency preparedness, climate resilience, and the vulnerability of isolated communities to extreme weather events.