Sonia Furstenau grabs another seat for the Green Party after being elected in the riding of Cowichan Valley.
This was a riding to watch this election.
NDP incumbent Bill Routley, who won by a 40.1 per cent to 34.9 per cent margin in the 2013 election, was not running again.
The NDP’s riding president, Ian Morrison, quit after he was denied the nomination due to the party’s gender equity policy. He then chose to run as an Independent.
The Greens had a well-known local activist as their candidate, Sonia Furstenau.
In 2009, first-time NDP candidate Bill Routley won this newly-created seat, defeating Cathy Basskin by over 3,000 votes.
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A Cowichan Valley riding has been on B.C.’s electoral map since the first general election of 1871. Known as Cowichan-Malahat from 1972-1986, and Cowichan-Ladysmith from 1991-2005, the riding has gone to the NDP in 12 of the last 15 elections. Longtime NDP opposition leader Bob Strachan held this seat from 1952 to 1975. The core of the riding is Duncan, but it stretches west to encompass all of Cowichan Lake, and includes the Highway 1 towns of Cobble Hill, Mill Bay, and Bamberton, stopping just south of Shawnigan Lake.
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