Gaby Wickstrom has ousted incumbent Shirley Ackland as mayor of Port McNeill. She won with 598 votes, beating out Ackland (344 votes) and Graham MacDonald (135 votes), according to unofficial results from CivicInfo BC.
Incumbent councillor Shelley Downey was re-elected. She’ll be serving with newcomers Ann-Marie Baron, Ryan Mitchell and Derek Koel.
Below is the full list of mayoral and councillor candidates in Port McNeill.
Candidates
Mayor
Shirley Ackland (incumbent)
Graham MacDonald
Gaby Wickstrom
Council
Ann-Marie Baron
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Shelley Downey (incumbent)
Doug Dyment
Derek Koel
Falyn Lynch
Matt Martin
Ryan Mitchell
Boundary
Port McNeill is located on Vancouver Island’s northern coast, about 45 kilometres from Port Hardy.
Population (2016)
2,337
History
Port McNeill is named for William Henry McNeill.
He captained S.S. Beaver, which was the Pacific Northwest Coast’s first steamship.
Coal would be discovered in the Port McNeill area, but higher-quality product in Nanaimo would drive interest in the resource elsewhere.
Port McNeill would establish a permanent settlement in 1939 after the Pioneer Timber Co. moved there; copper and iron mines also drew more people to the area.
Aquaculture and forestry are among the community’s biggest industries; Port McNeill is a place where you’ll find several salmon farming companies operating.
Median total income of couple economic families with children (2015)/B.C. median
$119,080/$111,736
Political Representation
Federal
Rachel Blaney (NDP)
Provincial
Claire Trevena (BC NDP)
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