From Nechako Lakes to North Coast's Haida Gwaii 15 candidates seek four seats at the Legislature

There was no great rush to the nomination list at the
Electoral Office in Prince Rupert on Friday, with only
one new name added for the October 24th election

With the arrival of the 1 PM deadline for nominations from Friday, the list of candidates across the Northwest for the snap election call from Premier John Horgan is capped at fifteen.

A few late additions to the race prior to the weekend setting the stage for some interesting political competitions across the Northwest.

For the North Coast, one late entry brought the total to three, with Kitimat's Jody Craven looking to once again test the political waters, taking on incumbent Jennifer Rice and BC Liberal Roy Jones Junior in the October 24th vote.

Just to the east, Skeena will also be a three person race, with Martin Holzbauer filing his papers as an Independent candidate, he and previously announced NDP candidate Nicole Halbauer are taking on incumbent BC Liberal MLA Ellis Ross.

With the similarity of surnames for the two challengers being so close, voters of Skeena may wish to bring their reading glasses with them, to ensure that they are marking their X for the candidate they intend to vote for.

The Stikine riding had already gained some provincial notoriety during the nomination process as NDP Party brass over ruled the nomination forms for Annita McPhee on the way to nominating former MP Nathan Cullen for the provincial race.

The riding now features three others seeking to stymie Mr. Cullen's ambitions for a provincial seat, with Darcy Repen representing the BC rural party, BC Liberal Gordon Sebastian and Rod Taylor for the Christian Heritage party all looking to be the one chose to replace now retired MLA Doug Donaldson.

The bid for office from Mr. Taylor the latest in his long running attempts to gain political office on either the Federal or Provincial scene.

The most unusual year for Stikine voters delivered even more mystery and controversy this past week. 

At one point it appeared that there would be five candidates for Stikine, however in a rather dramatic political implosion, the would be candidates for the Eco Socialist party have all withdrawn from the race, following attention that was drawn towards allegations of transphobia within the party.

Nechako Lakes does feature five candidates, with four challengers looking to to mount a campaign that would knock off long established BC Liberal MLA John Rustad. 

Those embarked on their political quest include Independent Margo Maley, Libertarian Jon Rempel, Ann Marine Sam for the BC NDP and Dan Stuart with the Christian Heritage Party.

Across BC 332 candidates filed their papers by Friday's deadline, with only the BC NDP and BC Liberal party's fielding candidates in all 87 constituencies.

In total ten parties have hoisted their political banner, while 24 candidates are running as Independents.

For notes on the races across the Northwest see our archive page here.

Cross posted from the North Coast Review.