By Roy L Hales
Long term Port McNeill City Coun. Shelley Downey will once again be the Conservative candidate in North Island-Powell River during the next federal election.
In response to Cortes Currents query about running again, Downey replied that she would be representing the party in a second federal election.
"I will be representing the Conservative Party of Canada when the next election is called."
During the 2019 election, the polls showed her briefly in the lead, but Downey lost to NDP incumbent Rachel Blaney by over 3,000 votes on election day.
Downey was born in Fort St. John, raised in Prince George and Hudson’s Hope, and came to Vancouver Island in 1991. She has a degree in business administration in accounting and worked in the fishing, tourism and helicopter sectors prior to focusing her attention on the family drug store in 2008. She ran her church’s junior youth program and coached high school volleyball for many years. She was a school trustee prior to serving on Port McNeill‘s city council for four terms. In 2011, Downey ran for mayor unsuccessfully.
The riding of North Island–Powell River. Screenshot taken from Elections Canada.
Typically, there are low returns for Conservatives in the Discovery Islands in elections.
In 2019, there were not any Conservative voters at the Blind Channel-Stuart Island poll. They received a single vote on Read Island and 19 on Cortes. The Conservatives did better on Quadra Island: 186 votes, which was 625 behind the leading NDP.
Most votes throughout the Discovery Islands went to either the NDP or Green parties.
2019 Returns for the Discovery Islands compiled from the Official Voting Results, Elections Canada by Roy L Hales
Links of Interest:
- (Cortes Currents) articles about, or mentioning, a possible federal election in 2021
- (North Island-Powell River Conservatives) Shelley Downey For Member of Parliament
- The Conservative Party of Canada website
- (Cortes Currents) articles about, or mentioning, Shelley Downey
