Tracy Gray has been in Kelowna politics for more than a decade, and she’s setting up a run to take a provincial seat from a controversial figure.

Premier David Eby announced a snap election yesterday, Sept. 22, which has drawn a lot of criticism, including from Gray who wants to run for the BC Conservatives in the Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream riding.

“This snap provincial election overlapping the municipal election is a callous move by Premier Eby and the NDP. It is disrespectful to all the people running municipally and all their volunteers,” she said in her announcement on social media. “I have put forth my intention to the Conservative Party of British Columbia to seek to become their candidate for Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream.”

Currently, the Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream riding is held by independent Tara Armstrong who has been at the centre of countless controversies in her two-year term as MLA.

Armstrong has not officially declared her intention to run again, and did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

It should be noted Armstrong has rarely returned a request for comment from iNFOnews.ca but only in the form of a written statement. She has never agreed to an interview.

Gray served as a Kelowna city councillor from 2014 to 2018 before she was elected as Kelowna’s MP from 2019 until she was unseated in 2025.

Since the snap election was called yesterday, all the opposition parties are still putting together their rosters of candidates.

Gray has set up a website calling for voters to ask the BC Conservative Party to pick her as their candidate.

“We have an opportunity to finally get rid of this NDP government,” Gray said. “It will be an honour to earn the trust of our residents so I can be a strong voice again for our community standing up for what is important to them.”

Candidates have until Oct. 3 to be officially nominated before voting day on Oct. 24.