A wave of political change has washed over Vancouver Island in the 2025 federal election – as voters elect five new members of parliament and diverse party representation. Preliminary results from Elections Canada show the island’s NDP stronghold is now multi-coloured with Conservative, NDP, Liberal and Green on the map. “Nowhere else do you get this sort of colourful spectrum of the four,” says Michael Prince, political scientist at the University of Victoria. Among the winners was Green Leader Elizabeth May, who was re-elected for a fifth term in her Saanich-Gulf Island riding. “There were a lot of pundits who were perfectly happy to predict that we’d be wiped off the map,” says May. “No. We’re here to stay and we’re in a minority parliament where (Prime Minister) Mark Carney may indeed need our help some day.” She and NDP MP Gord Johns, who was re-elected in Courtenay-Alberni, are the only returning incumbents on Vancouver Island. “It didn’t become as blue as some people thought, but you know … (Conservative Leader Pierre) Poilievre got rewarded for his many, many visits to the mid and north island,” says Prince. Voters elected Conservatives Tamara Kronis in Nanaimo-Ladysmith, Jeff Kibble in Cowichan-Malahat-Langford, and Aaron Gunn in North Island-Powell river. “North Island-Powell River is a very long way from Ottawa and I’ve got a bit of a megaphone, so I want to use it to make sure the voices of my constituents are being heard and their concerns are being addressed,” says Gunn. For the first time in 17 years, the Liberals are back on the island. Former Alberta NDP cabinet minister Stephanie McLean has been elected in Esquimalt-Saanich-Sooke. “When I looked at the leaders who I could throw my support behind to ensure that we had a strong showing, that man was Mark Carney,” says McLean. UVic associate professor of international relations Will Greaves has also been elected in Victoria. “My role as MP I think will definitely involve, on the one hand, contributing to some of the national challenges that we face as a country in this moment – but also very much trying to get more action and more results on some of the local issues that we have here,” says Greaves. “We have concerns around housing and affordability. We have concerns around maintaining high-quality public services. And in the context of the trade war with the United States, we definitely have a lot of concern for some of the more vulnerable industries here on the island,” he adds. “We’re going to keep buying Canadian. We’re going to keep traveling in Canada. And we’re going to keep our elbows up,” says McLean.
