Slate of Kamloops-area candidates slowly taking shape

Mar 23, 2025 | 2:52 PM Victor Kaisar

KAMLOOPS — The start of the Federal election campaign means the City of Kamloops has officially been split into two federal ridings – Kamloops-Thompson-Nicola and Kamloops-Shuswap-Central Rockies.

Gone is Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo, after the new electoral boundaries were proposed by the Electoral Boundary Commission, and later adopted by the House of Commons in Sept. 2023.

In Kamloops-Thompson-Nicola, incumbent Conservative MP Frank Caputo is seeking re-election to his second term in office.

He’s expected to be challenged by former Green Party candidate Iain Currie, who announced his desire to seek the Liberal Party nomination last week. Currie has not yet been named the Liberal candidate in the riding.

The NDP are also expected to name a candidate by the end of the week.

In Kamloops-Shuswap-Central Rockies, which extends all the way to the Alberta border, incumbent Conservative MP Mel Arnold is seeking his fourth term in office.

Both the Liberals and the NDP are also expected to announce candidates in Kamloops-Shuswap-Central Rockies as early as this week as well.

While the Green Party does not yet appear to have a candidate for Kamloops-Thompson-Nicola, it lists Owen Madden as its candidate in Kamloops-Shuswap-Central Rockies.

Elsewhere, in Cariboo-Prince George, which includes the City of Williams Lake and the District of 100 Mile House, the Conservative Party banner will be carried by incumbent MP Todd Doherty, who was first elected in 2015.

The NDP lists Angie Bonazzo as its candidate, while the Liberal Party does not yet appear to have one publicly listed on its website.

Canadians will go to the polls on April 28.