BC NDP candidate Andrea Dunlop is campaigning to become the next MLA for Columbia River-Revelstoke.
Dunlop has deep ties to the riding.
“This riding is my home. I grew up in Windermere and was lucky enough to return here after getting my education,” she said.
“I taught at David Thompson Secondary School for 32 years and raised my family here.”
She said affordability is the top concern she’s hearing from residents, especially housing costs.
“What I’m hearing most on the doorstep is affordability. Housing affordability is by far the number one thing I’m hearing and you can’t have good housing if you don’t have a strong economy,” she said.
“If we have a strong economy we can afford to build the housing that is necessary. Some of our businesses are struggling because they can’t find employees who can afford to live here. Housing is almost in a sense economic infrastructure that we need to bring into our communities so they can thrive.”
She said the NDP is ready to build, not cut.
“The NDP have a plan to protect what we have built and to keep building for the future. These investments will have long term payoff, in terms of jobs, education, industry and modern medicine. I’m here to ensure that we continue to build. We don’t cut and we don’t hurt families”
Dunlop said she’s seen first had the damage government cuts had on the riding.
“I am running because I know what happens when we elect a government that runs on unfunded promises and cutbacks. We lose,” she added.
“I was here in 2001 when the BC Liberals, now BC Conservatives, were running the province during an economic downturn. They chose to put the burden of those costs onto the people of my community. One of the things they did was shut down our forestry office. Overnight dozens of good paying jobs were lost and no one was in the forests keeping an eye on what was happening there and our economy shrank. Businesses suffered, our school went from a population of 600 students to 400 and we were forced to cancel services like the late bus.”
Dunlop said her party is investing in the future of BC.
“There is a difference between being fiscally responsible and being fiscally conservative. When your roof leaks, you go into debt to repair it, to protect your home, family and investment. Students make this decision every year when they go into debt to invest in a brighter future,” she said.
“Spending money on our schools, hospitals and housing is an investment in our collective future, but none of this comes for free. The conservatives are promising tax cuts and expanded services and that math just doesn’t square.”
Dunlop also wanted to provide context on why a snap election was called.
“This election is really about choice: Stability or chaos. For context, the NDP had a one vote majority until Joan Phillip passed away at the end of August. That meant every vote in the house could bring down the government. To that end the conservatives forced 13 non-confidence votes hoping to trigger an election,: she added.
“There are MLAs dealing with cancer, but must be available to vote. To keep the government functioning one MLA had to Zoom in for a vote five hours after giving birth.”
She said that wasn’t sustainable moving forward.
“At a time when you have tariffs and trade wars threatening jobs and families in our community, that kind of instability makes long term planning difficult if not impossible,” she said.
“The government has decided to turn it over to voters. Do you want to give us a stronger mandate? we need to make decisions and plans that extend past the next vote in the legislature, so we are having this election because we need voters to decide.”
The 2026 BC Election is on Saturday, Oct. 24. Voting is from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Pacific Time.
Advanced voting runs from Oct. 16-21.
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