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The quick read: The Central Okanagan went decisively blue on October 24. Gavin Dew won Kelowna-Mission with over 58 per cent of the vote and Macklin McCall took West Kelowna-Peachland with over 62 per cent, but Kelowna Centre is still undecided, with Conservative Kristina Loewen leading NDP challenger Loyal Wooldridge by just 132 votes and mail-in ballots still to count.

Kelowna did not hedge its bets on Saturday.

Across the Central Okanagan, voters delivered a decisive verdict for the B.C. Conservatives, with one riding left hanging by a thread.

The landslides

In Kelowna-Mission, Conservative incumbent Gavin Dew won convincingly with over 58 per cent of the vote, taking 13,582 votes to NDP candidate Miriam Rycroft's 6,425, according to Kelowna's 103-1 Beach Radio.

In West Kelowna-Peachland, Macklin McCall was the first winner declared anywhere in B.C. on election night, recording over 62 per cent of the vote, or 14,428 votes to the NDP's George Morgan and his 6,871.

McCall, re-elected after first winning the riding in 2024, told supporters it is an honour to serve them.

The cliffhanger

Then there is Kelowna Centre, the riding that refuses to be boring.

Conservative incumbent Kristina Loewen finished election night just 132 votes ahead of NDP challenger Loyal Wooldridge, with 10,650 votes, or 48.3 per cent, to Wooldridge's 10,544.

Mail-in ballots have yet to be counted, and they could still alter the outcome.

This is familiar territory for both candidates.

In 2024, Loewen defeated Wooldridge by just 40 votes, making Kelowna Centre one of the closest races in the province two elections running.

Public safety was the defining issue in the riding this time, with both leading candidates telling voters that making streets safer was the top priority.

That is a message Kelowna voters clearly took to heart, and whichever candidate emerges from the final count will carry a clear instruction: get crime and disorder under control, and do it visibly.

What it means for the Okanagan

With the Conservatives holding a provincewide majority, the Central Okanagan's MLAs will now be on the government side of the legislature, not shouting from the opposition benches.

That should mean more influence over the files that matter here: hospital capacity at Kelowna General, housing approvals, and the cost pressures squeezing families and small businesses.

It also means accountability.

Voters who just handed the Conservatives this region in a sweep will expect results, not excuses, and they will be watching the first session closely.

The final count for Kelowna Centre and other close ridings is planned for November 6 to 10.

Until then, one Kelowna riding remains the province's best reminder that every vote really does count.

Sources: Kelowna's 103-1 Beach Radio, "BC Conservatives set for sweep in Kelowna area ridings," October 25, 2026; BC Ballot election-night results; 2024 Kelowna Centre result.

Photo credit: Photo by Kate Joyce on Unsplash