From left to right: Conservative Helena Konanz, Liberal Gloria Morgan, NDP Linda Sankey.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Federal party websites
April 27, 2025 - 4:00 AM
Election day is approaching and the Conservative Party is projected to win by a landslide in the Similkameen-South Okanagan-West Kootenay electoral district, a region that has been an NDP stronghold since 2015 under MP Richard Cannings.
The latest poll from 338 Canada shows a strong lead for former Penticton city councillor and Conservative candidate Helena Konanz, who also ran for the party in the past two federal elections.
Richard Cannings won by a slim margin in 2021 with 41 per cent of the vote, with Konanz just behind at 35.5%.
This election has Konanz ahead at 47% with Liberal Gloria Morgan behind at 30%, and the NDP — now represented by Linda Sankey after Cannings retired — at 22%.
New boundaries
The districts have been redrawn and the new riding formerly called South Okanagan-West Kootenay now includes parts from the previous electoral districts of BC Southern Interior, Kootenay-Columbia and Okanagan-Coquihalla districts.
The riding has been expanded west to encompass Keremeos and Princeton and most of the Okanagan-Similkameen, and includes the Okanagan Valley from Osoyoos north to Peachland.
It includes the southern part of the Central Kootenay Regional District east to Castlegar, and most of the Kootenay Boundary district excluding Trail.
The southern riding boundary is the United States border running just east of the Similkameen River to just west of Trail.
This map shows the boundaries for Similkameen-South Okanagan- West Kootenay electoral riding.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/ Elections Canada
Conservative Helena Konanz
Konanz has been married for 35 years and raised her children in Penticton where she has operated several small businesses. A former world-ranked professional tennis player originally from the United States, Konanz earned a master’s degree in Urban Studies and Political Science from UBC Okanagan in 2018.
Konanz served as a Penticton city councillor and Regional District Okanagan Similkameen board member for a decade, promoting small business and economic growth and support for vulnerable community members.
Her focus is on restoring safety and security to citizens.
Liberal Gloria Morgan
Born in Enderby, Morgan went to school in the Okanagan and earned her Law Degree at UBC. She has worked as an RCMP officer, lawyer and Chief of the Splatsin te Secwépemc First Nation and served as a criminal defence lawyer and Crown prosecutor.
Most recently, she sat on the boards of the Provincial Health Services Authority and the BC Forensic Psychiatric Service Commission, and currently serves as an Elder and Knowledge Keeper for the BC First Nations Justice Council.
Morgan’s focus is on affordable housing, better healthcare, and supporting local businesses and industry.
NDP Linda Sankey
Sankey has been married for 40 years and lives in Penticton where she raised her children.
She brings more than three decades of experience working in government and non-profit sectors where she advocated for marginalized communities.
At first working for BC Housing, Sankey advocated for the rights of unionized workers. She later became the executive director of the South Okanagan Similkameen Brain Injury Society where she fought for adequate health care for people with disabilities.
Sankey served on the City of Penticton’s Housing Task Force and was co-chair for the 100 More Home Penticton Collaborative. She sat on the boards of the BC Brain Injury Association and the Penticton Chamber of Commerce, and volunteered with youth programs.
Alleviating poverty, worker’s rights and finding economic solutions to provide stability for families are important issue for her.
Green Phillip Mansfield
Mansfield and his family live in Penticton on a cherry farm and he has a long history of supporting the Green Party and environmental causes.
After completing a Theoretical Physics Ph.D. at Yale University, he worked as a professor of physics, math and computer sciences at different universities. He later founded a BC software company which he sold to Apple and served as a software research scientist at Apple and Google.
Mansfield developed software to help with ecological urban planning as well as world-leading medical AI software to help doctors.
Mansfield aims to mitigate our environmental impact and restore a healthy ecosystem through large-scale group action, and build a thriving society based on sustainable economy.
PPC Barry Dewar
Kelowna resident Barry Dewar has more than four decades of experience as a local banker and businessman with deeply rooted connections in the South Okanagan, and friends and family spread across Penticton, Oliver, Osoyoos and the Kootenay regions.
A former owner of a Junior B hockey team who fundraises for charitable causes, Dewar is passionate about sports and community engagement, and building strong local connections.
Dewar’s values of individual freedom, personal responsibility, respect and fairness align with those of the PPC.
READ MORE: iN VIDEO: Federal electoral district changes in Kamloops, Okanagan
Demographics:
Similkameen-South Okanagan-West Kootenay has 111,246 people spread across 16,881 square kilometres.
The average age is 50 and the average income is $48,120. The most popular language other than English is Punjabi with 2,240 speakers.
Elections Canada is expecting a voter turnout of 65%.
Election day is Monday, April 28.
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