Federal Election 2015: North Okanagan-Shuswap riding results

Summary: With Colin Mayes retiring as a Conservative MP after nine years, North Okanagan-Shuswap will elect a new member of parliament this year.

Boundaries: This mid-sized rural riding contains every municipality along Highway 97 from Coldstream to Shuswap Lake, and every municipality along Highway 1 from Chase to Malakwa. Vernon is the riding’s largest population centre

Last Election: Colin Mayes defeated NDP candidate Nikki Inouye by 29.1 per cent, winning a third term in parliament.

History: Since creation prior to 1979, the riding surrounding Vernon has elected right-wing candidates in all but one federal election.

Demographics: English is the first language of 90.4 per cent of the residents, followed by German at 2.9 per cent and French at 1.5 per cent. The population was calculated at 121,475 people in the 2011 census, making it the largest riding in British Columbia.

Candidates

Conservative: Mel Arnold, a Salmon Arm businessman and former head of the B.C. Wildlife Federation.

NDP: Jacqui Gingras, a health and nutrition expert

Liberal: Cindy Derkaz, lawyer and member of several provincial commissions and tribunals

Green: Chris George, former manager and financial planner, current university student