Shuswap Lake (Image Credit: Columbia-Shuswap Regional District)
CSRD

New electoral area approved in Shuswap

Jul 22, 2022 | 6:37 AM

SALMON ARM, B.C. — The Columbia Shuswap Regional District will be adding a new director this fall, increasing the board to 12 members.

The director will represent a new Electoral Area G covering the Shuswap communities of Blind Bay, Sorrento and Notch Hill.

Map showing new Electoral Area G in the Columbia Shuswap Regional District (Image credit: CSRD).

The province has officially approved the creation of the new electoral area which will take effect Nov. 17, 2022.

The change is a result of Sorrento and Blind Bay residents voting against incorporation earlier this year.

“The default outcome of the [incorporation] study was to move ahead with dividing Electoral Area C into two electoral areas − each with its own elected director,” a news release from CSRD stated. “Due to population growth in Electoral Area C, splitting the region into two areas and adding an additional director will create a more equal distribution of elected representation across the region.”

The vote for the first-ever director for Electoral Area G will be part of the civic elections on October 15.

The CSRD has created interactive mapping on its Elections 2022 webpage, which allows residents to type in their address and confirm which electoral area they will be voting in.

Seven members of the CSRD board are elected directly in each rural electoral area, while the remaining five are appointed from the member municipalities of Golden, Revelstoke, Sicamous and Salmon Arm.

Due to its population, the City of Salmon Arm appoints two members to the board of directors.