2005 Candidates (as received from Elections B.C.):
- Charley Beresford, New Democratic Party of B.C.
- Lindsay Budge, Independent
- Ida Chong, BC Liberal Party
- Lyne England, DR BC
- Stephen Hender, Green Party of BC
District Profile:
At the southeast tip of Vancouver Island, this riding is largely bordered on the south, east and north by the ocean. On the west it's bounded by Foul Bay Road, Richmond Avenue, Cedar Hill Cross Road and Blenkinsop Road. Once the preserve of the Hudson's Bay Co., this area is now quite affluent, with an average family income of $82,061 – the ninth-highest in the province. The service sector is the main employer; unemployment is a low 6.5 per cent. The University of Victoria and Camosun College are here, so it's little surprise that, at 34.3 per cent, the riding has the province's sixth-highest proportion of university-educated residents. One quarter of residents are immigrants, while 21 per cent are over 65 – the fourth highest such proportion in B.C.
Political History:
The MLA in Oak Bay-Gordon Head is Liberal Ida Chong, the minister of advanced education and a two-term incumbent. Chong won her seat in 1996 with a 640-vote defeat of then-incumbent Elizabeth Cull of the NDP. In 2001 Chong won again, this time by nearly 9,000 over New Democrat Charley Beresford. Before Chong, Cull had served since winning a 1989 byelection; her victory in the '91 general election was by 837 votes over Liberal Paul McKivett. Brian Smith of the Socreds was MLA here from 1979-89.
In 2001, voter turnout in Oak Bay-Gordon Head was 75.5 per cent – the sixth highest in the province.
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