Nanaimo-Gabriola Island candidates express priorities
Three candidates are running for the legislative assembly in the Nanaimo-Gabriola Island electoral district. From left to right are Anna Mary McKenzie for the BC Green Party, Sheila Malcolmson for the NDP and Mark McDonald for the Conservative Party of BC.
Three candidates are vying to become the Member of the Legislative Assembly for Nanaimo-Gabriola Island in this provincial election.
Incumbent BCNDP MLA Sheila Malcomson is facing the BC Green’s Anna Mary McKenzie and Mark MacDonald who is running for the BC Conservative Party.
CHLY spoke with Malcomson and McKenzie about why they are running and what they can deliver for Nanaimo residents. An email from a Conservative party staffer declined our interview request saying that Conservative candidates are focusing on speaking with voters. Answers to our questions sent through email were also never received.
Asked why she was running for re-election, Malcolmson said it was to continue the work she’s done as part of the NDP government.
“I'm running for MLA for Nanaimo-Gabriola to protect what matters most: jobs, healthcare, the coast, and to fight rising costs. Every door I knock on, every conversation I have, that's what people are bringing up, health care and the cost of living,” Malcolmson said.
“We've made some really good headway on it against really difficult odds, exacerbated now by Trump's trade war, and the real hit we're feeling on businesses and workers right here at home. But there's a lot more for us to do, and there's a lot at risk. We've seen conservative parties lay off health-care workers and erode progress on childcare. We can't afford to go back, and as New Democrats, we're determined to work together and go forward.”
McKenzie said that she’s running to provide an alternative to the NDP and the Conservatives in Nanaimo.
“I'm running because I have some grave concerns both with the BC Conservative Party as well as the NDP,” she said. “I'm very nervous that there will be a swift shift to voting for BC Conservative, given that many folks are not very happy that an election has been called two years early, also in the midst of our Nanaimo municipal election.”
Malcolmson pointed to the forestry industry when asked for the biggest challenge local residents are facing that the province can address.
“The biggest cloud looming over us is the impact of Trump tariffs on forest-related jobs in the sector. We have already, as an NDP government, protected or deferred thousands of hectares of old growth forest. We've reduced raw log exports by 80 per cent since we came in, and we're really counting on value-added forestry as a way to maximize jobs from the lumber that we do cut,” she said. “To see now Trump tariffs aimed directly at the plywood and veneer sector, a really big employer here in Nanaimo is Coastland, makes me very nervous. They're good-paying, family-supporting jobs, and we're working really hard through employment training investments to be able to transition people from mill closures in the Cowichan Valley.
Malcomson continued.
“We've had some folks we've been able to retrain and, and get hired at Seaspan, for example, the shipbuilding industry that's expanding. But I don't want to retrain people that are really good at the jobs that they have right now, so we're really going to fight hard to protect them, stand up against Trump, protect those jobs,” she said. “At the same time, we're doubling trades training funding, and that's benefiting Vancouver Island University. So that's a real bright spot on the job side, one that we're gonna keep working hard on.”
McKenzie said that the province should focus on the cost of living and making life more affordable.
“The cost of living. I think taking costs off the shoulders of British Columbians when we're already paying enormously high costs for gas, for groceries, for our homes,” she said. “I really like the approach of the BC Greens. Their taxation plan makes a lot of sense. One of my teachings is to not leave anybody behind, and I really see that approach as a redistribution of wealth in a way that makes sure that nobody's being left behind.”
Malcolmson said affordability is also the top priority for the NDP.
“Number one is affordability. There's no question, and I hear every day how much people are pressed. Every time I'm knocking doors [it’s] pretty much front of mind. We've already made some real changes reforming ICBC. We reduced rates for everybody by $500 on average, and we've frozen rates for the next seven years,” she said. “Conservatives say they would throw out all those changes that we made, and we know that would double insurance alone. In the last couple of days some pretty exciting announcements both on regulating grocery and corporate oil and gas, which will make a difference at the gas pump. Finding those provincial tools given the failure of the federal government to regulate those industries is pretty exciting and consistent with the offer that we've had already.”
McKenzie said that should the Greens form government the party would address a number of issues but for her the most important is what can be done to help families.
“For me, one of the main tenets of this campaign is centring children, youth and families,” she said. “If children, youth, and families are well, I think that's really indicative of a healthy society.”
McKenzie said that she has worked with, and reported on the Ministry of Children and Family development and wants to ensure that families are doing well in the community.
Asked what she can deliver for local residents, Malcolmson renewed her promise for a new hospital patient tower and cardiac centre.
“That's a commitment we've already made as a government, but we need to get it done in this term.”
Malcolmson touted the NDP’s investments into health-care infrastructure in Nanaimo such as a new intensive care unit, high acuity bets, running the MRI machine 24 hours a day and opening two urgent primary care centres in Nanaimo.
“So we've got to do more of that, and the hospital tower and the cath lab are the next phase.”
Malcolmson also addressed the need for a new high school to replace the aging Nanaimo District Secondary School (NDSS) building.
“I'll also say, though, a project I really want to get across the line, — and I don't yet have a government commitment on it, but as local MLA I'm determined — is to see a rebuild of the NDSS,” she said, adding that the government has built 260 new schools since the NDP was elected into government in 2017.”
“I know NDSS is in the lineup, but I'd really like to get that across the line and I'm, I'm determined to do that work.”
McKenzie said she is looking to use her experience as a reporter to reform the child welfare system for youth in care by introducing legislation should she be elected.
“One of the things that I want to implement right away should I be elected as an MLA are the equitable standards for transitions to adulthood. They have not been formally adopted as a mandatory jurisdictional policy by the government of B.C.,” she said.
“The National Council of Youth and Care Advocates came up with these equitable standards for transitions to adulthood by Dr. Melanie Doucet, and it's a framework to make sure that young people have the supports they need to thrive in this community when they age out of care. I think that would be a really great start to showcase that we care about the next generation.”
Voting day for the provincial election is Saturday, Oct. 24 with advance voting available between October 16 and 21. For more information on where and how to vote go to elections.bc.ca.
Funding Note: This story was produced with funding support from the Local Journalism Initiative, administered by the Community Radio Fund of Canada.
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