B.C. Votes 2017: Courtenay-Comox riding profile

In advance of the 2017 B.C. election, we'll be profilingall 87 electoraldistrictsin the province. Here is Courtenay-Comox, one of 15 ridings on Vancouver Island and a place where changes in the boundaries are likely to help the B.C. Liberals.

Summary: A mid-sized riding halfway up Vancouver Island, the riding formerly known as Comox Valley has shrunk in size as the Courtenay/Cumberland/Comox region has grown in populationand lost Cumberland and Oyster River in the most recent redistribution.

Politics: The Comox-centred riding went to the NDP in six of seven elections between 1972 and 2001but has since only elected B.C. Liberal candidates.

In the last three elections, the Liberals have defeated the NDP by less than 2,000 votes.

Candidates: With two-term MLA Don McRae choosing not to run again, the Liberals chose Jim Benninger, the former base commander of CFB Comox, to replace him.

The NDP candidate is Ronna-Rae Leonard, a three-term Courtenaycouncillor, former environmental researcherand the federal party's 2011 candidate in Vancouver Island North.

The Green Party candidate is Ernie Sellentin, an environmental consultant and project coordinator with the Coastal Invasive Plant Committee.

Where does the NDP do well?The NDP does best in Courtenay's town centre. It also did quite well in Cumberland, but that area was transferred to Mid Island-Pacific Rim in the redistribution.

What about the Liberals?Broadly speaking, the Island Highway divides the riding, with areas to theeastfavouring the Liberals particularly the homes thatsurround the Crown Isle golf course, where it isn't uncommon for the party to get over 75 per cent of the vote.