---
title: "Six of seven candidates attend Nanaimo provincial forum focused on economy and jobs"
description: "Candidates from two Nanaimo ridings met at the Nanaimo Golf Club on October 13, 2026 to discuss the economy and jobs. Six of seven invited candidates attended. Sharleen Weatherley of the BC Greens was the only one absent."
canonical_url: "https://voche.me/bc/provincial-2026/news/nanaimo-provincial-forum-october-13-2026"
last_updated: "2026-10-17T18:42:31.516Z"
---

Six of seven candidates from two Nanaimo provincial ridings attended a forum at the Nanaimo Golf Club on October 13, 2026. Nanaimo News Now reported that the event covered the Nanaimo-Gabriola Island and Nanaimo-Lantzville ridings and focused on the economy and jobs.

The six candidates present were [Mark MacDonald](/bc/provincial-2026/candidates/mark-macdonald) (BC Conservative, Nanaimo-Gabriola Island), [Sheila Malcolmson](/bc/provincial-2026/candidates/sheila-malcolmson) (BC NDP, Nanaimo-Gabriola Island), [Anna Mary McKenzie](/bc/provincial-2026/candidates/anna-mary-mckenzie) (BC Green Party, Nanaimo-Gabriola Island), [Kelsey Pringle](/bc/provincial-2026/candidates/kelsey-pringle) (BC Conservative, Nanaimo-Lantzville), [George Anderson](/bc/provincial-2026/candidates/george-anderson) (BC NDP, Nanaimo-Lantzville) and [Pepper Saltman](/bc/provincial-2026/candidates/pepper-saltman) (BC Communist Party, Nanaimo-Lantzville). [Sharleen Weatherley](/bc/provincial-2026/candidates/sharleen-weatherley), the BC Green Party candidate for Nanaimo-Lantzville, did not attend. Nanaimo News Now did not give a reason for her absence.

## What candidates said

Topics included small business support, workforce training, local food production and restoring the forest industry, according to Nanaimo News Now.

On jobs, MacDonald said: "Nanaimo needs big projects, because they promise higher-paying jobs."

On small business, Pringle said: "This idea of taxing ourselves to prosperity is not working for small businesses."

McKenzie said Nanaimo voters should act together on the issues facing the province, according to the Nanaimo News Now report.

## Context

The October 13 forum was held 11 days before voting day on October 24, 2026. Two ridings were represented: Nanaimo-Gabriola Island has three candidates on the ballot (MacDonald, Malcolmson and McKenzie) and Nanaimo-Lantzville has four (Anderson, Pringle, Saltman and Weatherley). The four parties at the table were the BC Conservative Party, the BC NDP, the BC Green Party and the BC Communist Party.

The forum gives Nanaimo voters a direct record of what each candidate said on economic issues. Advance voting opened across the province on October 16, three days after this event.

## Advance voting and voting day

Advance voting for the BC provincial election runs October 16 to 21, 2026. Voting day is October 24. Voters in the Nanaimo ridings can confirm their voting location at [elections.bc.ca](https://elections.bc.ca/2026-provincial-election/where-to-vote/).

## Sitemap

See the full [sitemap](/bc/provincial-2026/sitemap.md) for all pages.