The candidates have been finalized for the Oct. 19 provincial election, including the two Parksville Qualicum Beach area electoral districts, Ladysmith-Oceanside and Mid Island-Pacific Rim.
Running in Ladysmith-Oceanside are Brett Fee (Conservative Party of B.C.), Laura Ferreira (B.C. Greens), Stephanie Higginson (B.C. NDP) and Adam Walker (Independent). Candidates are listed alphabetically.
Brett Fee (Conservative Party of B.C.)
Fee has a background in business and coaching youth sports, according to a candidate profile submitted to the PQB News. He has owned and operated the family business, a martial arts facility, since 2006 and earned the title of Kickboxing Studio of the Year in 2023.
He has an academic background in political science and criminology, as well as experience as a BC Provincial Taekwondo Sparring Champion and collegiate athlete.
Fee’s top priority is reducing administrative overhead in the healthcare system and redirecting resources to front-line jobs. By improving working conditions for nurses and doctors, he hopes to create a safer and more enjoyable work environment that encourages healthcare professionals to stay.
With a degree in criminology, Fee is passionate about ensuring local neighbourhoods remain safe and secure. He advocates for improved resources for mental health support, and initiatives to combat crime at its roots.
Laura Ferreira (B.C. Greens)
Ferreira grew up in the Alberta Rockies and developed an appreciation which later guided her academic pursuits at the University of Victoria, where she studied political science and environmental studies, according to her bio posted on the B.C. Greens website.
Her background as the daughter of a nurse and an entrepreneur has given her a strong belief in the value of public services and the importance of community investment.
Ferreira's experience includes time spent in Ottawa working on Parliament Hill and for the Green Party of Canada.
She has also gained valuable insights from her work in the private sector, supporting clean-tech innovation. Since 2021, Ferreira has been a member of the BC Green Caucus, helping to advance progressive policies.
Stephanie Higginson (B.C. NDP)
Higginson and her family have lived in the Ladysmith-Oceanside area since 2010, where she and her husband raise their two children on a small farm in Cedar, according to a candidate profile submitted to the PQB News. She was twice-elected to the Nanaimo-Ladysmith Board of Education and is also a past president of the B.C. School Trustees’ Association.
Higginson has been knocking on doors and has heard the number one concern across the communities is access to the healthcare system and having a primary care physician. She has started building relationships with local government representatives, community stakeholders and the chiefs and councils of the First Nations communities in the riding to ensure that she can hit the ground running on addressing the issue.
Access to housing and affordability are also key issues for Higginson. They are also personal as her parents found themselves priced out of the rental market and the family struggled to find housing in the community.
Another issue she has heard at the doors is about the serious threat of climate change and Higginson says the provincial government's Clean BC Strategy addresses this challenge.
Adam Walker (Independent)
Walker is running for re-election as an independent MLA. He has lived in Qualicum Beach all his life and for nearly two decades ran a small technology business, according to a candidate profile submitted to the PQB News.
Walker and his wife are raising two young daughters on their small family farm. He was elected to Qualicum Beach council in 2018 prior to his election as MLA in 2020.
He touts a newly opened a nurse practitioner-led clinic, affordable housing and investments in roads and healthcare as some accomplishments as MLA.
He believes it's important to put party politics aside and focus on delivering essential services like healthcare.
Walker said his office has developed plans for new health clinics in Parksville and Qualicum Beach and is assisting six internationally trained doctors with their credentials.
In Mid Island-Pacific Rim, the candidates are Adam Hayduk (Conservative Party of B.C.), Josie Osborne (B.C. NDP) and Ross Reid (B.C. Green Party).
Adam Hayduk (Conservative Party of B.C.)
Hayduk was born and raised in B.C. and has more than 20 years of experience in non-profit youth sport organizations, operations and administration, according to his bio on the Conservative Party of B.C. website.
His career in youth sports includes time as the executive director of one of BC's largest minor hockey associations, and later the roles of assistant coach and assistant general manager of the Alberni Valley Bulldogs in the BCHL.
Community involvement is important to Hayduk, who collaborated with the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District staff to develop and implement a recycling curriculum in elementary schools.
Hayduk hopes to improve outcomes related to the drug crisis and mental health, improve the cost of living and better support healthcare professionals, teachers and law enforcement officers.
Josie Osborne (B.C. NDP)
Osborne has called Tofino home for over 25 years, first moving there to work as a fisheries biologist for the Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council then leading an environmental education non-profit organization before serving as mayor of Tofino for almost eight years, according to her bio on the B.C. NDP website.
In 2020 she was elected MLA for Mid Island-Pacific Rim and currently serves as the minister of energy, mines and low carbon innovation.
Osborne believes in working hard to improve access to affordable housing, access to health care and making life more affordable. She is committed to work towards more sustainable resource development and solving the climate crisis.
She lives with her husband on 10 acres in Tofino with her dog, two goats and a coop full of chickens.
Ross Reid (B.C. Green Party)
Reid was immersed in the outdoors as a young child, which aided in developing a strong affinity for exploring the natural world and building community around it, according to his bio on the B.C. Greens website.
This connection to the outdoors led Reid to pursue a career in storytelling as an adventure filmmaker after completing a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Film and a Minor in Biology. A decade later he returned to school for an MBA.
In 2019, Reid launched 'Nerdy About Nature', a multi-media project that educates people on nature and humanity's interrelationship to it as a means of inspiring them to think differently, engage constructively and work together to create a more just, equal, inclusive and diverse future.
Reid also works in the ecological restoration of forests and watersheds.
Where to vote in Ladysmith-Oceanside:
Advance polls:
-Christian Fellowship Centre (825 Village Way) in Qualicum Beach, from Oct. 10 to Oct. 12;
-Craig Street Commons Gym (330 Craig St.) in Parksville, from Oct. 10 to Oct. 13 and Oct. 15 to Oct. 16;
-Saltair Community Centre (3850 South Oyster School Rd.), from Oct. 10 to Oct. 12;
-Stz'uminus Health Centre (3945 Shell Beach Rd.), on Oct. 12.
Final voting day (Oct. 19):
-Christian Fellowship Centre (825 Village Way) in Qualicum Beach;
-Craig St Commons Gym (330 Craig St.) in Parksville;
-Frank Jameson Community Centre (810 6th Ave.) in Ladysmith;
-Jensen Centre (132 Jensen Ave. E) in Parksville;
-Kwalikum Secondary School (266 Village Way) in Qualicum Beach;
-Lasqueti Community Hall (206 Main Rd.) on Lasqueti Island;
-Nanoose Place (2925 Northwest Bay Rd.) in Nanoose Bay;
-North Oyster Community Centre (13467 Cedar Rd.) in Ladysmith;
-Parksville Fellowship Baptist Church (550 Pym St. N) in Parksville;
-Saltair Community Centre (3850 South Oyster School Rd.) in Ladysmith;
-Stz'uminus Health Centre (3945 Shell Beach Rd.) in Ladysmith.
Where to vote in Mid Island-Pacific Rim:
Advance polls:
Bradley Centre (975 Shearme Rd.) in Coombs, from Oct. 11 to Oct. 13;
Lighthouse Community Centre (240 Lions Way) in Bowser, from Oct. 12 to Oct. 13;
Alberni Athletic Hall (3727 Roger St.) in Port Alberni, from Oct. 10 to Oct.13, and Oct. 15 to Oct. 16;
Cumberland Cultural Centre (2674 Dunsmuir Ave.), from Oct. 15 to Oct. 16;
Fanny Bay Community Hall (7793 Island Hwy S) in Fanny Bay, on Oct. 12;
Tofino Community Hall (351 Arnet Rd.), from Oct. 12 to Oct. 13;
Ucluelet Community Hall (500 Matterson Dr.) from Oct. 10 to Oct. 11.
Final voting day (Oct. 19):
Bradley Centre (975 Shearme Rd.) in Coombs;
Lighthouse Community Centre (240 Lions Way) in Bowser;
Ahousaht Emergency Response Building (254 Main St.) in Ahousat;
Alberni Athletic Hall (3727 Roger St.) in Port Alberni;
Bamfield Fire Hall (368 Pachena Rd.);
Beaver Creek Fire Hall (6038A Beaver Creek Rd.) in Port Albern;
Cherry Creek Hall (3720 Moore Rd.) in Port Alberni;
Cumberland Cultural Centre (2674 Dunsmuir Ave.);
Denman Island Seniors Hall (1111 Northwest Rd.);
Ditidaht Community Hall (658 Malachan Rd.) in Nitinaht;
Echo '67 Community Centre (4255 Wallace St.) in Port Alberni;
Hornby Island Community Hall (4305 Central Rd.);
Hot Springs Cove Band Building (1 Hot Springs Cove Rd.) in Ahousat;
Port Alberni Friendship Centre (A-3555 4th Ave.);
Royston Community Hall (3902 Island Hwy S);
Sproat Lake Fire Hall (7667 Pacific Rim Hwy);
Tofino Community Hall (351 Arnet Rd.);
Ucluelet Community Hall (500 Matterson Dr.).
