2005 Candidates (as received from Elections B.C.):

• Jim Bell, Independent
• Graham Bruce, BC Liberal Party
• Brian Fraser Johnson, DR BC
• Cindy-Lee Robinson, Green Party of BC
• Doug Routley, New Democratic Party of B.C.
• Jeremy Harold Sandwith Smyth, The Freedom Party

Maps from Elections B.C. will open in a new window.

District Profile:

This southeast Vancouver Island riding stretches from the Strait of Georgia on the east to Cowichan Lake in the west, and straddles Highway 1 from Duncan to north of Ladysmith. Other communities here include Crofton, Maple Bay and Chemainus in the east, and Caycuse, Gordon River, Youbou and Honeymoon Bay in the west. Logging and the manufacture of forestry products are economic mainstays, but there's also dairy and mixed-crop farming. The average family income is $55,920 – below the provincial norm – while unemployment is a high 10.7 per cent. The Cowichan and Chemainus bands contribute to an aboriginal proportion of 13.5 per cent – the sixth-highest in B.C. Another 14 per cent of residents are immigrants; 16 per cent are age 65 or over.

Political History:

The incumbent in Cowichan-Ladysmith is Liberal Graham Bruce, the minister of skills development and labour. Bruce first held office in the riding from 1986-91 as a member of the Socreds. He was unseated in 1991 by New Democrat Jan Pullinger, who held onto the seat in 1996 with a comfortable win over Liberal Ray Smith. Bruce was returned to office in 2001 by beating Rob Hutchins of the NDP by nearly 5,000 votes. Prior to 1986 the riding was represented by New Democrats Bob Strachan (1952-75) and Barbara Wallace (1975-86).

In 2001, voter turnout in Cowichan-Ladysmith was 76.1 per cent – the second highest in the province.