Last time there was a provincial election, two years ago, BC NDP leader David Eby didn’t campaign in Kelowna, but now he thinks the city is ready for a change.

Outgoing Kelowna city councillor Loyal Wooldridge is the BC NDP candidate for Kelowna Centre, again. In 2024 he lost to BC Conservative Kristina Loewen by 40 votes.

Today, Oct. 2, BC NDP leader David Eby made a public appearance in the city to stand next to Wooldridge who held a pound of butter in his hands.

“Kelowna is ready for a change,” Eby said. “The fact that (Wooldridge) did so well in the last election, he was so close… his commitment to the community led people to say, ‘you know what, I’ve always voted for conservative, but, Loyal, I trust you.'”

Loewen is running again this time around as well, so the riding is a rematch of one of the closest races of the last provincial election.

Eby made his appearance in what former Liberal Premier Christy Clark called the “cradle of free enterprise” to announce that he plans on putting a cap on grocery store profits if re-elected.

Eby said the only stop in Kelowna in 2024 was an “admittedly very brief round up with our candidates.”

When iNFOnews.ca previously asked Wooldridge if his strong showing in a historically anti-NDP riding shifted the party leader focus to Kelowna, he said the party had learned some lessons from last time.

“Things will be quite different this time,” Wooldridge said. “I’m quite confident that the party is definitely listening to the needs of Interior communities in British Columbia, as well as our rural communities. I think we’ll see some change this time around.”

The BC NDP has never won a riding in Kelowna.

“I don’t believe this region has experienced in a long time a representative that prioritizes their needs,” Eby said.