- Incumbent: Sheila Malcolmson (NDP | 2019)
- Candidates:
- NDP: George Anderson
- Conservative: Gwen O’Mahony
- Green: Lia Versaevel
- Results:
- NDP – 47%
- Liberal – 30%
- Green – 20%
- Conservative – 2%
- Description:
- Composed of the northern half of the City of Nanaimo along with the District of Lantzville, this is shaping up to be a hotly contested battleground between the Conservatives and the New Democrats. Marrying the NDP-friendly neighbourhood of Departure Bay to the larger and leafier homes along Hammond Bay Road, it undoubtedly leans more right than its southern counterpart.
- Uniquely, this may be the only riding in the province to have two party switchers on the ballot. Nanaimo-Lantzville first received widespread media coverage in April this year, when John Rustad unveiled his newest star recruit - former Chilliwack Hope MLA Gwen O’Mahony, once the symbol of Dix’s inevitability.
- Since losing her seat in Clark’s upset 2013, O’Mahony has stayed engaged in politics, even throwing her hat in the ring for the nomination in Nanaimo-Ladysmith federally for the NDP. What drove her damascene conversion were NDP policies on SOGI 123 and transgender youth, along with public disorder fuelled by the opioid crisis.
- To beat the turncoat, the New Democrats have fielded a party switcher of their own in former Nanaimo city councillor George Anderson. The former federal Liberal is armed with a long pedigree of civic engagement in the area, even managing to get elected to Nanaimo city council at the age of 21. He’ll be looking to hold ground in Departure Bay while ensuring he doesn’t get blown out in Hammond Bay or get dealt a fatal blow in Lantzville - neither of which are solidly NDP turf. Hammond Bay only went NDP during the historic pandemic election of 2020, while Lantzville was previously part of the Parksville-Qualicum riding that has only gone NDP once this century.
- Rounding out the candidate roster is the Greens’ Lia Versaevel. The party pulled in a robust 20% of the vote in both 2017 and 2020, indicating that there’s both a floor and a ceiling for them in the riding. What she does have going for her is experience from multiple runs for the Greens on different levels of government. This may be the tightest riding she’s ever run in, however - and she’ll have to try her hardest to avoid getting squeezed out.
- For Anderson and O’Mahony, the path to victory lies through winning over seniors. Not only do they make up much of the riding’s population, they also are disproportionately more likely to vote. Anderson is touting the government’s investments in healthcare and the promise of a new patient care tower, while O’Mahony has slammed the NDP for its lax approach to law enforcement on drugs, even allowing addicts to be housed with seniors in long-term care homes. If this riding goes blue, it could be a bellwether for the Tory surge on the Island.
Hugh Chan is a second year student at UBC studying International Relations and Data Science. You can find more coverage of the 2024 BC election as well as politics across East Asia and the Anglosphere at https://x.com/shxnhugh.
