West Kelowna-Peachland

West Kelowna-Peachland is a new riding created through the 2024 redistribution, drawing together the fast-growing City of West Kelowna on the west side of Okanagan Lake with the smaller District of Peachland to the south. The riding's communities are strung along Highway 97, connected by the Okanagan Lake floating bridge to the City of Kelowna across the water. Orchards, vineyards, and hillside subdivisions define the landscape, and the local economy blends agriculture, tourism, construction, and the service sector that supports a growing retirement population. The riding bore the scars of the catastrophic McDougall Creek wildfire of August 2023, which forced the evacuation of more than 35,000 people and destroyed homes across West Kelowna, the Westbank First Nation, and adjacent communities.

Candidates

Macklin McCall (Conservative Party) — McCall was a former RCMP officer with nineteen years of service, including experience in a Police and Crisis Team role addressing mental health emergencies. Raised on a family farm in Okanagan Falls, he had spent the last fifteen years living in West Kelowna.

Krystal Smith (BC NDP) — Smith was born and raised in Kelowna and had spent her career working for elected officials at various levels of government, including a stint in the mayor of Vancouver's office. As a student leader at UBC Okanagan, she had successfully advocated for a universal bus pass for students.

Stephen Johnston (Independent) — Johnston was a sitting West Kelowna city councillor, first elected in 2018 and re-elected in 2022, and had served as a director of the Regional District of Central Okanagan since 2018. A Red Seal journeyman carpenter who worked in construction industry sales and business development, he had been the nominated BC United candidate for the riding before the party suspended its campaign in August 2024, and he chose to run as an Independent.

Local Issues

The aftermath of the McDougall Creek wildfire defined the political landscape in West Kelowna-Peachland more than any other issue. The fire, which ignited on August 15, 2023, grew explosively on August 17 when winds drove it through residential areas and across Okanagan Lake into north Kelowna and Lake Country. At its peak, more than 35,000 people were under evacuation orders and another 30,000 under alert. Hundreds of homes and structures were destroyed across the fire's footprint, with the unincorporated lakeside communities of Traders Cove and Wilson's Landing suffering the heaviest losses, and the Insurance Bureau of Canada estimated insurable damages at $480 million. Heading into the 2024 election, many displaced families had not yet returned to permanent housing, and residents demanded answers about the pace of rebuilding, the adequacy of provincial disaster recovery funding, and the long-term investments in fire prevention infrastructure — including fuel management, community wildfire protection plans, and a second electrical power line to ensure energy resilience — that would be needed to prevent a recurrence.

Transportation infrastructure was a persistent frustration for residents who depended on Highway 97 for daily commuting and access to services in Kelowna. The highway interchanges, overpasses, and intersections in West Kelowna's Westbank town centre were congested during peak hours, and Westside Road — the sole alternative route north along the west side of Okanagan Lake — was widely regarded as one of the most dangerous roads in the province. Candidates debated provincial investment in highway upgrades, interchange improvements, and the long-term viability of the floating bridge that linked the riding to Kelowna's hospital and commercial centre.

The presence of both a Conservative candidate and a well-known Independent former BC United candidate shaped the competitive dynamics of the race. Stephen Johnston, who had won two municipal elections in West Kelowna and served on the regional district board, drew support from centrist and centre-right voters who were uncomfortable with the Conservative Party of BC's policy positions but unwilling to vote NDP. His decision to stay on the ballot after BC United's collapse created a three-way contest in which the division of the non-NDP vote was a factor in the race's dynamics.