---
title: "Amelia Boultbee will not run for the NDP in Penticton-Summerland"
description: "Sitting MLA Amelia Boultbee says she cannot raise the resources needed to give the BC NDP a fair contest in Penticton-Summerland, and is stepping aside before the October 24 election."
canonical_url: "https://voche.me/bc/provincial-2026/news/amelia-boultbee-ndp-penticton-summerland-withdrawal"
last_updated: "2026-10-10T04:07:03.814Z"
---

Amelia Boultbee, the sitting MLA for Penticton-Summerland, announced on September 29 that she will not run for the BC NDP in the October 24 provincial election. The Canadian Press reported that Boultbee said she cannot raise the resources needed to give the NDP a competitive run in her riding, and is stepping aside to allow the party to field a stronger candidate.

"I'm stepping aside to make way for a more winnable candidate," Boultbee said in her statement, as reported by CTV News.

## How she got here

Boultbee was first elected in October 2024 as a BC Conservative MLA for Penticton-Summerland. She left that party over ideological disagreements, sat as an Independent, and joined the BC NDP in July 2026. CTV News reported that joining the NDP raised the party's caucus to 48 members, increasing Premier David Eby's majority in the legislature to two seats.

The move drew criticism from her constituents. In her statement, Boultbee said she had been threatened, spat at, disowned and abused in ways both public and private. She said she still stands by the decision.

"I'm confident that I did the right thing for the right reasons when I made that decision," she said in the statement.

She also said that being in the NDP caucus helped her community during the Bald Range wildfire in August 2026, when thousands of people in Summerland and surrounding communities were forced to leave their homes. She said the NDP's experienced staff gave her resources she could not have had as an Independent MLA.

## What this means for the riding

CTV News reported that Boultbee is the sixth member of the BC legislature not to seek re-election in this election. The BC NDP has not yet named a candidate for Penticton-Summerland.

Nominations for the October 24 election close on October 3 at 1 p.m. Pacific time. After that deadline, Elections BC will publish the full candidate list. Voters in Penticton-Summerland can check who is running in their riding at the [BC provincial election candidates page](/bc/provincial-2026/news).

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