The BC Liberal Party has announced Renee Merrifield as its candidate for the Kelowna-Mission riding in this October’s election.
Merrifield appeared briefly during the BC Liberals’ news conference Monday afternoon (Sept. 21) as party leader Andrew Wilkinson introduced some of the faces vying for election this year.
“I’m running … because I love my community, I love my province and it’s time,” said Merrifield in a brief appearance by video during the press conference. “We need some strong leadership with Andrew Wilkinson to start rebuilding not only our futures but also our economy.”
Currently, Merrifield is the CEO of local development company Troika and has been named one of Canada’s top 100 most powerful women three years in a row by the Women’s Executive Network.
This is Merrifield’s second attempt at local political office, after failing to win the Kelowna-Lake Country nomination for the federal Conservative Party in 2019.
Outgoing MLA for Kelowna-Mission Steve Thomson said he’s excited to be handing over the reins to Merrifield who he says will be a great candidate who he’s looking forward to supporting throughout the coming election.
“She’ll continue the strong legacy of representation from the Okanagan,” said Thomson, who represented the riding for more than 10 years.
Premier John Horgan has officially terminated his minority government agreement with the B.C. Green Party and called an election for Oct. 24.
READ MORE: Kelowna Liberal MLAs respond to ‘opportunistic’ snap election call
READ MORE: Citing stability, B.C. Premier calls snap election for Oct. 24
Do you have something to add to this story, or something else we should report on? Email: michael.rodriguez@kelownacapnews.com
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