MLA in Columbia River-Revelstoke · BC provincial 2026
Scott McInnis
MLA for Columbia River-Revelstoke since 2024, running again for the Conservative Party of BC.
Scott McInnis won Columbia River-Revelstoke in 2024 with 47.92% of the vote. In the legislature in 2026 he called for DRIPA to be repealed, introduced a bill on notice to landowners about Aboriginal title talks, and pressed for rural retention pay for health workers in Cranbrook and Kimberley.
A researched record of Scott McInnis's 18 commitments, 9 dated actions and 10 public statements from 2026, with 8 news items. Most come from the legislature record and local reporting.
On dates without a confirmed appearance the public schedule is unknown; the candidate may still have activities that day. This static page changes only when its research is updated.
01 / Introduction
About Scott McInnis
Scott McInnis is the Conservative Party candidate in Columbia River-Revelstoke on Elections BC's list for the general election of October 24, 2026. He won the district in 2024 with 8,768 votes, 47.92% of the valid vote, ahead of Andrea Dunlop of the BC NDP with 8,098 votes, according to the Elections BC statement of votes. Dunlop is on the 2026 list again.
In the legislature he described himself as the opposition critic for Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation, for tourism and resort municipalities, and for the Columbia River Treaty. He spoke most often on DRIPA, Aboriginal title and treaties, and on health care in the East Kootenay.
On September 2, 2026 he left the Conservative caucus to sit as an independent, saying he could no longer support the direction of leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay. After Findlay resigned, interim leader Lorne Doerkson readmitted him to the caucus on September 21, 2026, according to CBC News and The Canadian Press.
The party's candidate page says he has lived in Kimberley since 2010 and worked for 15 years as a teacher and principal. My East Kootenay Now reported in 2024 that he was earlier a BC United candidate. Those statements come from the party and from reporting; voche.me has not checked them with an employer.
Published positions and selected commitments, separated by election cycle. Status labels describe the evidence reviewed, not a numerical score or a complete audit of the platform. Council approval is different from delivery.
18 commitments shown · Checked Sep 30
2026 · GovernanceCampaign pledge
Repeal the Declaration Act (DRIPA)
In question period on April 13, 2026, McInnis asked the government to repeal the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act. On April 22, 2026 he voted yes at first reading of a bill to repeal it, according to the vote index. In a statement reported by e-KNOW in May 2026, he said the act is driving investment out of the province.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
Repeal would be a bill passed by the legislature. He gives no date and no plan for what would replace the act.
What still needs checking
Would a Conservative government bring in a repeal bill, and in which session?
Notice to landowners about Aboriginal title talks (Bill M239)
On March 30, 2026, McInnis introduced the Aboriginal Title Transparency Act, a private member's bill. He said it would make the government tell landowners when talks or court cases about Aboriginal title could affect private land, file notices at the land title office, and report each year.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
The bill passed first reading. voche.me found no record of further debate before the legislature was dissolved. The bill gives no cost or date of its own.
Rural retention pay for Cranbrook and Kimberley health workers
McInnis asked the government in question period on February 26, 2026 and in Health estimates on April 29, 2026 to pay the provincial rural retention incentive to health workers in Cranbrook and Kimberley. He told the Cranbrook Daily Townsman they deserve it like workers in Invermere, Fernie and Golden.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
The Kimberley Bulletin reports the health minister said the incentive ends in September 2026. He gives no cost or replacement plan of his own.
What still needs checking
What would he propose for rural health worker pay once the incentive ends?
More hospital services in Alberta for East Kootenay patients
In the debate of March 5, 2026, McInnis thanked the health minister for a new surgical services agreement with Alberta and asked for more services, such as newborn intensive care and cancer care, to be added.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
An agreement between provinces is a provincial step. He names no cost, number of patients or date.
What still needs checking
Which services would he ask to add first, and by when?
In the budget debate on February 19, 2026, McInnis said he has been trying to secure long-term funding for Angel Flight East Kootenay, a volunteer service that flies patients to Kelowna. In Health estimates on April 29, 2026 he thanked the minister for added funding.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
He names no amount and no source of the money.
What still needs checking
How much provincial money does Angel Flight East Kootenay receive, and for how long?
In the budget debate on February 19, 2026, McInnis said he could not support the budget, pointing to the $13.3 billion deficit and the cost of interest on the debt. He voted no on the budget motion on February 26, 2026, according to the vote index.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
A statement of opposition. He names no deficit target or date of his own.
What still needs checking
What deficit figure and date would he support for balancing the budget?
In the budget debate on February 19, 2026, McInnis criticized the expansion of the provincial sales tax to bookkeeping and accounting services, using the example of a diner owner in Golden.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
He does not say he would remove the tax, and he gives no cost or date.
What still needs checking
Would he remove the tax on these services, and how would the lost revenue be replaced?
In tourism estimates on April 13, 2026, McInnis asked the minister to review community gaming grants and to consider tying them to inflation. He said the grants have stayed at the same level since 2010.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
A request for a review. He names no amount or date.
A united opposition on affordability and health care
In a statement when he rejoined the Conservative caucus on September 21, 2026, reported by Black Press Media, McInnis listed health care, public safety, affordability, economic opportunity and access to public land as the problems the opposition must address.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
A list of priorities. It names no measure, cost or date.
In the budget debate on February 19, 2026, McInnis said Columbia River-Revelstoke needs homes built as fast as possible, so that seniors and young workers can afford to stay. He said it is hard to find a home in Revelstoke under one million dollars.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
A statement of approach. It names no number of homes, measure or date.
What still needs checking
Which provincial housing measure would he support for small resort towns?
In question period on April 29, 2026, McInnis asked how the government would keep Revelstoke safe while local RCMP officers worked in Vancouver during the FIFA World Cup.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
A question to the government. It names no measure of his own.
What still needs checking
What police staffing would he support for small towns during large events?
In tourism estimates on April 13, 2026, McInnis read a request from Tourism Golden and asked the ministry to consider a separate funding stream for small events in rural resort towns, because the current program needs an event budget of at least $150,000.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
A request to the ministry. He names no amount or date.
In the budget debate on February 19, 2026, McInnis asked where the promised education assistants for every kindergarten to grade 3 classroom were, and said hours for assistants in high schools were being cut.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
A question about a government promise. He names no number, cost or date of his own.
What still needs checking
Would he fund an assistant in every K to 3 classroom, and at what cost?
Transportation within and between rural communities
In the budget debate on February 19, 2026, McInnis said his riding needs transportation within and between its communities. In August 2026 he told Black Press Media he would keep pressing against the closure of the Incomappleux Forest Service Road, which residents use to reach their homes.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
A statement of approach. It names no route, cost or date.
What still needs checking
Which roads or transit links would he ask the Province to fund?
As opposition critic for the Columbia River Treaty, McInnis asked in estimates on April 23, 2026 whether the ministry has a risk assessment for the case where the United States does not return to treaty talks.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
The treaty is between Canada and the United States, so the Province cannot change it alone. He names no measure of his own.
What still needs checking
What would he ask the Province to do if the talks end?
In the debate on Bill 9 on April 21, 2026, McInnis spoke against changes to the freedom of information law and said the public deserves timely access to information. He voted no at second and third reading, according to the vote index.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
A statement of opposition. He names no response time or date of his own.
What still needs checking
What response time for information requests would he set in law?
The party's platform page lists plan titles on housing, health, public safety, education, mining, forestry and Indigenous relations and says the full platform is coming soon. The page does not name McInnis.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
Party text with no measure, cost or date on the page on this date.
What still needs checking
Does the full platform appear, and does McInnis speak for any part of it?
Voted no on third reading of the K'ómoks Treaty Act (Bill 20)
The recorded vote index lists McInnis voting yes on an amendment at second reading, then no at second reading on May 20 and at third reading on May 28, 2026. He was his caucus's lead speaker on the bill.
Scope, limits and sources
In the debate he said he supports the earlier model of modern treaties and objected to the time given to review the treaty.
Voted no on third reading of the freedom of information bill (Bill 9)
The recorded vote index lists McInnis voting no at second and third reading of the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Amendment Act, 2026.
Scope, limits and sources
The index does not describe what each amendment changed.
Read original statements and reporting, or open the publisher’s video. A summary of a speech is labelled separately from a full recording.
Speech
Budget debate speech
McInnis spoke against the 2026 budget: the deficit, the cost of debt, sales tax on bookkeeping, rural health care, housing in Revelstoke and backcountry closures.
Question period and Indigenous Relations estimates
As critic for Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation, McInnis asked about the federal agreement with the Musqueam Nation and how the public is told about title agreements.
Records are labelled by type, including official findings, civil proceedings and political disputes where applicable. Each entry identifies the response found in the sources and the latest status verified for this page.
No reviewed entries have been added to this section yet. This is a research gap, not a finding about the candidate.
News coverage / Original publishers
Read the reporting
A dated reading list from independent publishers. The headings below are voche.me summaries; follow each link for the original article, context and any corrections.
Sources checked September 30, 2026. Official records establish decisions; campaign material establishes stated positions; reporting adds investigation and context. None alone establishes every claim.
No campaign website of his own for 2026 was found. His constituency office site, scottmcinnismla.ca, says it will not be updated until after the election. His X account (@McInnis_4MLA) and Facebook page show a sign-in page to a direct read, so no post is used, including the re-election video the Kimberley Bulletin describes. The party candidate page labels him "Interim Conservative Party Leader"; the party's own team page lists him as a candidate, and reporting names Lorne Doerkson as interim leader, so voche.me does not repeat that label. His teaching career, his years as a principal and his community roles are stated by the party page and by 2024 reporting; voche.me has not checked them with a school district or employer. The Indigenous Relations estimates (March 3 and 4, 2026), the Bill 2, Bill 11 and Bill 20 committee stages, and the Mining estimates where he spoke were read only in part. Votes come from the vote index; the transcripts of those votes were not opened. His roles as opposition critic come from his own words in the legislature and from reporting; voche.me found no official list of critic roles. No 2026 all-candidates meeting in Columbia River-Revelstoke was found on this date. No court case, official finding or published dispute about him was found. Campaign finances and endorsements were not reviewed. The questionnaire has not been sent.
Research status
What voche.me has checked
Evidence reviewed on 2026-09-30: the Elections BC candidate list and 2024 statement of votes, the legislature's 2026 speech and vote indexes, 13 transcripts where he spoke, the party's candidate, team and platform pages, his constituency office site, and local and provincial news from 2024 to September 2026.
His commitments on this page come from what he said in the legislature and in statements printed by news outlets in 2026. The party platform page lists headings only on this date. Sections with no entry record that voche.me found nothing on this date.
Proposed questions for a future interview. They have not been sent to the candidate, and no answers have been supplied.
No questions and answers have been supplied.
Have your own question?
Ask Scott McInnis directly. We send it to the campaign, and publish the reply here if we get one.
05 / About this page
Questions about this page
Facts voche.me can state about Scott McInnis's page itself, answered directly rather than left blank.
Is this an official page for Scott McInnis?
No. This page is researched by voche.me from public sources, listed below, and is separate from Scott McInnis's own campaign.
What party is Scott McInnis running with?
Scott McInnis is running for MLA with Conservative Party of BC.
Does Scott McInnis currently hold public office?
Yes. Scott McInnis currently serves as MLA for Columbia River-Revelstoke.
How many sources does this Scott McInnis profile cite?
This profile lists 6 sourced references, each with the date voche.me checked it, in the Sources section below.
Why do some questions on Scott McInnis's page show no answer?
The "Questions & answers" section on this page lists questions voche.me would put to Scott McInnis in a future interview. They have not been sent yet, so the page says plainly that no answer has been supplied instead of leaving the section blank.
When is the election Scott McInnis is running in?
The 2026 British Columbia election, including the MLA race, is decided on October 24, 2026.
06 / Candidate contributions
Space for campaign updates
No campaign updates yet
Announcements, event details and messages can be added here, with their source and publication date. No campaign submission has been added.
