Over 9,600 voters take part in advance voting for Chilliwack-Cultus Lake, but Chilliwack North lags

CHILLIWACK-CULTUS LAKE – Over 9,600 eligible voters cast ballots in the Chilliwack-Cultus Lake riding over a six-day period of advance voting, but the numbers are much lower in another Chilliwack-area riding.

According to the latest data from Elections BC, 9,606 voters took part in early voting between Friday, Oct. 16 and Wednesday, Oct. 21, in the Chilliwack-Cultus Lake riding, for an advance voting participation rate of 21.89 per cent. There were 43,872 registered voters in the Chilliwack-Cultus Lake riding as of Oct. 14, Elections BC said.

The Chilliwack-Cultus Lake features two candidates, former MLA Kelli Paddon of the BC NDP who represented the riding from 2020-2024, and incumbent Á’a:líya Warbus from the Conservative Party of British Columbia.

There were four advance voting locations in the Chilliwack-Cultus Lake riding.

Over in Chilliwack North, however, the advance voting was much lower. After six days of advance voting, Elections BC’s website indicates 6,927 voters out of 41,633 registered voters participated in the Chilliwack North riding, or just 16.63 per cent.

The three Chilliwack North candidates are Adila Shaukat (left, NDP); Dan Grice of CentreBC; and Heather Maahs of the Conservative Party of British Columbia. (Image Credit: BC NDP; Dan Grice; Conservative Party of BC.)

The Chilliwack North riding only had two advance voting locations, including Evergreen Hall and Rosedale Traditional School.

In the Fraser Nicola riding spanning Hope, Harrison Hot Springs, Agassiz (District of Kent), Seabird Island, Merritt and surrounding communities, 6,396 voters out of 35,043 registered voters took part in advance voting. That riding features B.C. Conservatives incumbent Tony Luck, who won the riding by 17.9 per cent over Francyne Joe of the NDP in the 2024 election.

Since the Fraser Nicola riding’s inception in 2009, three parties have won the seat, starting with the NDP and Harry Lali, followed by the Liberals’ Jackie Tegart and, most recently, the Conservatives with Tony Luck. This Saturday, Luck will be looking to retain his seat versus the NDP and Green Party.

Only 16 of the 93 ridings in the province saw more than 10,000 eligible voters cast ballots during the six-day advance voting period.