B.C. ELECTION 2017: Eye on the Kelowna-West race

KELOWNA – There's a reason Christy Clark chose the Kelowna-West riding for a byelection four years ago — it's considered a very safe haven for the Liberals and likely the Premier will hang onto her seat.

Clark won the riding in a byelection in 2013 after losing in her own riding of Vancouver-Point Grey. Clark took over from elected Ben Stewart and won with 62.66 per cent of the vote, or 11,758 casted ballots. 

Clark is running against NDP Shelley Cook, B.C. Green Party candidate Robert Mellalieu and Independent candidate Brian Thiesen.

• SHELLEY COOK: NDP's Cook has been preparing for this election longer than she realized 
• ROBERT MELLALIEU: How Robert Mellalieu realized he was a closet Green Party supporter 
• CHRISTY CLARK: Biggest issue for Kelowna-West is transportation says Christy Clark 

Most of the riding was previously known as Westside-Kelowna but re-drawn and renamed Kelowna-West in 2015. 

Similar to the rest of the Central Okanagan, the Kelowna-West riding is a Liberal stronghold, having elected a Liberal representative since the riding's inception.  

As of April 11, there were 46,852 registered voters in the riding.

During the last provincial election in 2013, out of the 45,389 eligible voters in the riding only 21,361 people voted, making up a 47.5 per cent voter turnout, one of the lowest turnouts in the province. 

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