Re-elected Scott McInnis pledges to bring rural issues to the forefront in Victoria

Scott McInnis of the Conservative Party of BC has been re-elected MLA for Columbia River-Revelstoke, a riding he has represented since 2024.

McInnis won 52.5 per cent of the vote in Saturday’s (Oct. 24) snap provincial election. With 69 of 70 polls reporting, his lead was 2,792 votes, compared with his 670-vote margin in 2024.

McInnis ran against Andrea Dunlop of the NDP and Rana Nelson of the BC Green Party.

The Conservative Party of BC have formed a majority government with interim leader Lorne Doerkson expected to become premier.

Speaking to Pattison Media, McInnis said he is “humbled” to have been re-elected and does not take the responsibility lightly.

“I’m incredibly humbled, to be honest with you. It’s not lost on me that, you know, when you’re communities that you live in, select you to be their representative on a big stage, like Victoria, it’s just an incredible feeling of being humbled and very grateful this morning,” said Scott McInnis, MLA for Columbia River-Revelstoke.

“Already, even just the morning after, I’m starting to get this tremendous sense of duty and responsibility, on my shoulders as well, knowing that, the conservatives have won the election and will be forming government.

“And there’s not a lot of time to celebrate here. We need to get to work, get a transition team in place pretty quickly and start putting the province back together again.”

McInnis said his priority is for the residents of Columbia River-Revelstoke and representing their interests in Victoria.

“At a very high level, it’s still, you know, putting my constituents above everything else, and advocating strongly on their behalf for the needs that they bring up with me,” he adds.

“Which includes, things that I campaigned on, like access to rural healthcare, seniors care, transportation issues, and a host of other things.

“I’m gonna keep those at the forefront of my thoughts and keep bringing those to the big table in Victoria and make sure that those are addressed fairly for the East Kootenay.”

McInnis praised his opponents’ Dunlop and Nelson who he says ran clean campaigns. He also added that he will be working hard to represent the communities of Columbia River-Revelstoke.

“I want them to know that I do not take, them selecting me lightly, and I will be working as hard as I can just as I was previous to the election for them here in Columbia River Revelstoke,” he said.

McInnis expressed his gratitude to the volunteers and everyone who participated in the democratic process by voting and says he will represent every resident regardless of who they voted for in this election.

“This is our victory together. This is not one singular person. This was a big team that put this together, and everybody who cast their ballot, whether you voted for Scott McKinnis or somebody else, thank you for exercising that democratic right,” McInnis said.

“We’re so privileged to have that here in British Columbia…whether you voted for me or not. You have my word that I’ll do what I did the previous two years, which is represent everybody, to the best of my abilities and work as hard as I can for Columbia River -Revelstoke.”

The official results are below with 69 of 70 polls counted.

Columbia River-Revelstoke

Scott McInnis of the Conservative Party of BC: 8,893 votes (52.5 per cent)

Andrea Dunlop of the NDP: 6,101 votes (36 per cent)

Rana Nelson of the BC Green Party: 1, 942 votes (11.5 per cent)