Incumbent Conservative MP Mel Arnold has been re-elected in North Okanagan-Shuswap.
Seeking a second term as the region’s MP, Arnold captured 48.8 per cent of the vote.
With all 286 polls reporting, Arnold garnered 35,753 votes.
Liberal candidate Cindy Derkaz had 22.7 per cent of the vote (16.626 votes), with Harwinder Sandhu of the NDP in third at 15.3 per cent (11,198).
The job as MP for the North Okanagan-Shuswap isn’t one that changes hands very often. Darrel Stinson served the communities from 1993 to 2006. Then Colin Mayes served from 2006 to 2015. Arnold won the riding in 2015.
Arnold garnered 27,490 votes (39.3 per cent) to top the polls in 2015. Liberal Cindy Derkaz received 20,949 votes (29.9 per cent) to beat out New Democrat Jacqui Gingras, who got 17,907 votes (25.6 per cent).
Arnold has brought on controversy after being questioned on different occasions about his view that there is not sufficient evidence that climate change is mainly caused by humans.
In June, Arnold responded to a letter in the Vernon Morning Star newspaper, where he was accused of not being available to constituents.
“I campaigned on a commitment to being accessible to the voters of the North Okanagan-Shuswap and I continue to follow through on my commitment,” Arnold wrote in the paper.
“I have made it a priority to consistently seek input from the people of the North Okanagan-Shuswap through multiple surveys, open houses, town halls and an overall approach of being accessible.”
Candidates
Conservative: Mel Arnold
Liberal: Cindy Derkaz
NDP: Harwinder Sandhu
Green: Marc Reinarz
People’s Party of Canada: Kyle Delfing
Geography
The riding includes the communities of Vernon, Salmon Arm, Armstrong, Enderby and Sicamous.
Demographics
European: 102,155, 83.9 per cent
Aboriginal: 10,960 9 per cent
South Asian: 1,055 0.9 per cent
Chinese: 735 0.6 per cent