Peter Milobar, Lorne Doerskon, Kevin Falcon, Jackie Tegart, Todd Stone (image credit - CFJC Today)
2024 BC ELECTION

‘Actual results’; BC United announce four experienced MLAs as candidates for 2024 election

Oct 10, 2023 | 4:04 PM

KAMLOOPS — With the next provincial election set for October 2024, the former BC Liberals are gearing up by announcing a slate of experienced BC United (BCU) candidates for the Kamloops region.

“So we can get a lower cost of living for British Columbians, so we can actually get to affordable housing in British Columbia, not the promise but the actual results. So we can have safer streets on which people can feel they can walk on their streets, whether it’s West Victoria or Tranquille and not feel like their life could be in jeopardy. This is the kind of results that we will be working to deliver,” said BCU Leader Kevin Falcon in Kamloops Tuesday (Oct. 10).

With the riding boundaries redrawn, the communities of Tobiano and Savona are now lumped in with the new Cariboo-Chilcotin riding. Incumbent MLA Lorne Doerkson is running for re-election for BCU in the far-reaching seat.

“They can’t pay the price for that, the residents of Tobiano deserve good representation. What it is going to mean for me is some more hours in a vehicle. I’ll do my best to certainly get through the riding, I’m a pretty active MLA now and I certainly traverse Cariboo-Chilcotin a lot as it is,” said Doerkson.

The two Kamloops-specific ridings are now Kamloops-North Thompson, which will see Todd Stone as its candidate, and the new Kamloops Centre riding, being contested by Peter Milobar.

“There really is a great crossover between the two ridings. There always has been and there will continue to be,” said Milobar. “We only have one hospital, one airports, one university. For a lot of our residents, the boundaries don’t really seem to matter except on election day. And then we get back to working together as a collaborative region overall.”

The riding changes also affect Fraser-Nicola, with Ashcroft and Cache Creek separated off into the Chilcotin. Despite the change, Jackie Tegart, one of the longest tenured United MLAs, is seeking her usual seat.

“Files that I’m going to fight hard for and continue to advocate for. We’ve had floods, we’ve had fires, we’ve had landslides. There is a lot of work to continue and I am happy to be doing that,” said Tegart.

The BC Conservatives and governing NDP have not announced candidates for the Kamloops ridings, or for the surrounding region.