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B.C. election 2017: BC Green’s Adam Olsen elected in Saanich North riding

Adam Olsen from the riding of Saanich North.
Adam Olsen has been elected in the riding of Saanich North. BC Green party

Adam Olsen has been elected in the riding of Saanich North for the BC Green party. This is the second seat won for the BC Greens in this election following the election of party leader Andrew Weaver.

This has been a close riding to watch this election as once again, it was a rare, evenly matched three-way race.

Olsen, was a popular choice, being a First Nations local councillor and small business owner. Usually friendly turf for the BC Liberals, the Greens were predicted to take this riding. The Liberals were running candidate Stephen Roberts.

The NDP incumbent, Gary Holman, has had a low profile in the legislature.

In 2009, Liberal cabinet minister Murray Coell won his fourth straight election, defeating NDP candidate Holman by 245 votes.

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Saanich North and the Islands was created in 1991 when Vancouver Island gained an additional four ridings. It consists of Central Saanich, North Saanich, Sidney, and the lower Gulf Islands from Pender to Galiano. It has gone to the Liberals in each election since its formation, but this is a politically diverse riding. The Gulf Islands have supported the NDP in the past, while the Liberals do better on Vancouver Island. This riding is entirely inside the federal riding that Green Party leader Elizabeth May won in the 2011 federal election, becoming the first Green MP.

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