Okanagan-Westside

Okanagan-Westside was a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada from 2001 to 2009.

It included the small cities of Westbank, Westside, Peachland, and Summerland, and extended from the city limit of Summerland (in the south) to the Okanagan Lake bridge, in Westside (north). Kelowna, the major city in the Okanagan, lies across the Okanagan Lake bridge. Encompassing land in both the South and Central Okanagan, this constituency's lands are well known for their semi-arid climate and high summer temperatures..

Demographics

Population, 2001	47,678
Population Change, 1996–2001	8.9%
Area (km²)	1,959
Pop. Density (people per km²)	24

History

The area of this constituency was first settled in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by European agriculturalists. Fruit growing, especially apple and cherry crops, were a major industry, although tourism, logging, mining, and now viticulture, have also been major industries in the region. The Okanogan peoples, an Interior Salish language group, have settled the area for several thousand years.

1999 redistribution

This electoral district was carved out of Okanagan West, Okanagan-Vernon and Okanagan-Penticton.

2008 redistribution

The electoral district was abolished in 2008 into Westside-Kelowna, Penticton and Fraser-Nicola.

MLAs

1. Rick Thorpe, Liberal (2001–2009)

Election results

2001 British Columbia general election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	Expenditures
	Liberal	Rick Thorpe	14,181	68.08	$39,628
	New Democratic	Ernie Dmetro Ursuliak	3,176	15.25	$4,535
	Unity	Howard Lionel Hunt	1,364	6.55	$591
	Marijuana	Teresa Taylor	1,188	5.70	$1,120
	Action	Jack W. Peach	921	4.42	$1,186
Total valid votes			20,830	100.00
Total rejected ballots			127	0.61
Turnout			20,957	69.91

2005 British Columbia general election
Party	Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal	Rick Thorpe	12,148	54.39
	New Democratic	Joyce Procure	6,873	30.77
	Green	Angela Reid	2,262	10.13
	Democratic Reform	Janice Marie Money	1,051	4.71
Total			22,334	100.00

External links

• BC Stats Profile - 2001
• Results of 2001 election (pdf)
• 2001 Expenditures
• Website of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia