From Left: Conservative MP Mel Arnold, Liberal Candidate Ken Robertson, NDP candidate Phaedra Idzan, Green Candidate Owen Madden, and PPC Candidate Michael Henry
Image Credit: .
April 27, 2025 - 4:00 AM
Whether the demographics of the newly formed riding of Kamloops–Shuswap–Central Rockies will make any difference to which party is elected to Ottawa won't be known until election day, but it's worth remembering that even with a boundary change the entire region has largely thrown its support behind the Conservative Party of Canada.
New for this federal election, the former Kamloops–Thompson–Cariboo riding has now been split in two: Kamloops–Thompson–Nicola to the west and Kamloops–Shuswap–Central Rockies to the east.
The recent boundary change has taken voters south of the Thompson River in Kamloops and put them with those casting ballots in Salmon Arm and the Shuswap stretching to Revelstoke and as far east as Golden. The new riding also absorbs Enderby, taking it from the former North Okanagan–Shuswap riding.
Demographics
According to Elections Canada at last count, the ridings population was 109,218, with an average age of 45 years old. That’s higher than the province average of 42.3 years old and the national average of 41.7 years old. At the last federal election, 67% of voters turned out to cast a ballot, slightly higher than the national average of 63%. The average income in the electoral district is $50,240 and 96% of residents speak English at home.
Who does the riding vote for?
Kamloops and the surrounding area have been voting the Tories into parliament for the last 25 years, and those in the Shuswap have stood behind various conservative parties for even longer.
Voters are now added from Revelstoke and Golden which have also elected Conservative MPs for much of the last two decades, except for a term for the NDP who won by less than one per cent in 2015.
While the region is thought of as a Conservative stronghold, it’s worth remembering that it hasn’t always been right-leaning.
The NDP dominated what was then the Kamloops–Shuswap riding throughout the 1980s and 1990s, with NDP MP Nelson Riis taking the seat in 1980. He managed to hang on to it for 20 years winning five times before his defeat to Conservative Betty Hinton in 2000.
Adding the Revelstoke to Golden area into the mix might make the riding less blue and an unscientific look at votes by polling station shows that in 2021 voters in Golden favoured the NDP candidate a touch above the Conservative, and voters in Revelstoke twice as much.
While the race in the region has always been between the Conservatives and the NDP, nationally the polls put the NDP in a distant third place, with the Liberals having a slight lead over the Conservatives. Whether the Liberals new burst of popularity will be seen here isn't yet known.
The new Kamloops–Shuswap–Central Rockies riding.
Image Credit: Elections Canada
2021 Election Results
After four terms in office Kamloops–Thomson–Cariboo Conservative MP Cathy McLeod stood down and candidate Frank Caputo took the seat with 43% of the vote over NDP candidate Bill Sundhu’s 29%. The Liberals got 18%, with the People’s Party at 6% and the Greens at 4%.
Conservative MP Mel Arnold had an easy win in the Shuswap–North Okanagan taking 46% of the vote compared to NDP candidate Ron Johnston at 19.2% and Liberal candidate Shelley Desautels at 18.9%.
Caputo is now running in the other Kamloops riding, Kamloops–Thompson–Nicola, and three times elected MP Mel Arnold is hoping to hold onto his seat in Ottawa and represent the new Kamloops–Shuswap–Central Rockies riding.
The Candidates
Although Kamloops is the biggest city in the riding, none of the five call it home.
Incumbent MP Conservative Mel Arnold
Raised on a raised on a family dairy farm near Shuswap Lake Mel Arnold first became MP for the North Okanagan-Shuswap 2015 being re-elected in 2019 and 2021.
Since being in parliament he’s served as Shadow Minister for Fisheries, Oceans and Canadian Coast Guard and Deputy Shadow Minister for Fisheries and the Vice-Chair of the BC–Yukon Conservative Caucus. He’s also a member of the Standing Committee for Fisheries and Oceans. Before politics, he ran a small business in Salmon Arm.
MEL ARNOLD HOMEPAGE
Liberal candidate Ken Robertson
Robertson ran for the Liberals in the South Okanagan–West Kootenay riding in 2021, losing to NDP candidate Richard Canning and coming in third place with 12% of the vote. He also ran for the Greens in Ontario in 2014 and for band council.
On his bio, he describes himself as a proud Secwépemc man from the Neskonlith Indian Band and a devoted husband and father of four.
His career has focused on advocating for individuals on the autism spectrum and he's sat on various boards and working groups with federal, provincial, and municipal governments. In 2020 he was awarded Meritorious Service Decoration (Civil Division) from the Governor General of Canada for his work in the autism field.
Ken Robertson HOMEPAGE
NDP candidate Phaedra Idzan
A political newbie Phaedra Idzan’s bio says she was born and grew up in the Shuswap, and that's where she raised her children.
Her bio says she has years of leadership experience and spent a combined 10 years with the Ministry of Justice in BC and Yukon. She also spent four years at a non-profit seniors' housing society in Sicamous.
Phaedra Idzan HOMEPAGE
Green Party candidate Owen Madden
A former criminal prosecutor in Ireland, Madden also worked as an environmental lawyer in BC before becoming the owner of Shuswap Organics and Nature Delivered based in Grindrod.
It’s not his first go at political office. In 2020, Madden ran for the BC Greens for a seat in the legislature. He came in third place taking 15% of the vote.
Owen Madden HOMEPAGE
People’s Party of Canada candidate Michael Henry
A Revelstoke native and political newbie Henry joined the PPC in 2022. According to his bio, he’s the fourth generation of his family to live in Revelstoke and has had a lengthy career in industrial trades and ran his own mechanical contracting company for a decade.
Michael Henry HOMEPAGE
Canada's federal election takes place Monday, April 28. Information from Election Canada is available here.
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