Nanaimo-Ladysmith byelection marks last one before the federal vote

Voters in the British Columbia riding of Nanaimo-Ladysmithwill go to the polls today to elect a new member of Parliament.

The seat has been vacant for several months since the NDP's Sheila Malcolmsonstepped down for a successful run atprovincial politics.

Polls close at 8:30 p.m. local time (11:30 p.m. ET). CBC.ca will have updates on the results after the polls close.

Nanaimo-Ladysmith was created in 2012 when the boundaries of two ridings one encompassingAlberniand oneCowichan were redrawn. The two ridings were solidly Conservative and NDP, respectively, meaning the new riding has strong bases for two parties on opposing ends of the spectrum.

Macolmson took the riding by 10 points in the 2015 election, but the Liberals and Conservatives also put up strong and nearly identical showings at around 23 per cent of the vote.

The Green party also captured around20 per cent of the votein thelast election, and they area competitive player on Vancouver Island. They've put up strong provincial showings in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, and this is the last chance for the party to pick up a second federal seatbefore the election campaign.

Environmental issues tend to influence votes in this part of the province, and with three parties claiming theleft of the spectrum, vote-splitting could factor into the results of this byelection.

The main candidates are:

• NDP: Bob Chamberlin, former vice president of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs
• Conservatives: John Hirst,Sun Life Financial manager
• Liberals: Michelle Corfield, a First Nations leader whoserved as chair of the Nanaimo Port Authority
• Greens: Paul Manly, communications specialist and former candidate in this riding

All of the party leaders have made appearances in the riding during the campaign.

This is the fourth federal byelectionof the year, after three were decided in February.

In the Feb. 25byelection, voters preserved the Conservatives' long string of wins inOntario's York-Simcoeby electing Scot Davidson. The Liberals, with candidateRachel Bendayan,regained Montreal's Outremont riding, which washeld by former NDP leader Tom Mulcairbefore he resigned as an MP last August.

Current NDPLeader Jagmeet Singh earned a seat in the House of Commons with a win in Burnaby South, which was vacated last September by former New Democrat MP Kennedy Stewart, now Vancouver's mayor.

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