In 2013: NDP incumbent Michelle Mungall easily won re-election (50 per cent-28 per cent). The BC Liberals finished a distant second, while the Greens received almost 21 per cent, one of their best showings among all ridings.
In 2009: NDP Mungall took this riding over Liberal Josh Sminek by nearly 4,000 votes, 55-31 per cent, replacing longtime NDP MLA Corky Evans.
History & Geography: Nelson-Creston first appeared on the ballot in the 1933 election, and has remained ever since, growing slightly as the Kootenays were reduced from seven seats to four. Today, the riding goes east to west along Highway 3 from Yahk to 40 kilometres past Salmo, and north to south from Goat Range Provincial Park to the border. It has gone to the NDP in nine of the last 11 elections, and was held by Corky Evans for 14 years (1991-2001, 2006-2011) and has been won by the NDP by big margins since 2005.
Candidates
Liberals – Tanya Wall: Currently Regional District director and a former two-term Creston councillor, Wall has more than 20 years of experience in the environmental, health, and safety fields.
NDP – Michelle Mungall: Opposition critic for Social Development and Deputy House Leader and a former Nelson councillor, Mungall got her start in politics early, running in the 2001 Alberta provincial election for the NDP in St. Albert. She worked in Zambia for a number of years as National Programs Assistant for the YWCA.
Greens – Kim Charlesworth: served one term on Nelson City Council (2008-2011), and is Board Chair of the Kootenay and Boundary Food Producers Co-op. She briefly practised law before joining the public service.
Independent – Jesse O’Leary: If elected, O’Leary Jesse is pledging to give away half of his MLA salary to his constituents.
Independent – Tom Prior: Prior says he decided to run in response to money from the timber industry not staying in the West Kootenay region.
2017 Stats: Nelson-Creston
Population (2014): 36,907 (78th)
Population Deviation from Average: -30.5 per cent
Area: 13,212 sq km (18th)
Pop Density: 2.8 (71st)
Average Age: 47.5 years (11th)
English as Second Language: 10.32 per cent (72nd)
Top 3 Second Languages:
German – 2.72 per cent
Russian – 0.99 per cent
Dutch – 0.71 per cent