# Kootenay—Columbia

Kootenay—Columbia is a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that has been represented in the House of Commons of Canada since 1997.
Under the 2022 Canadian federal electoral redistribution the riding will be renamed Columbia—Kootenay—Southern Rockies.

## Geography

Consisting of:
* (a) the Regional District of East Kootenay;
* (b) that part of the Regional District of Central Kootenay comprising:
** the villages of Kaslo and Salmo;
** the Town of Creston;
** the City of Nelson;
** subdivisions A, B, C, D, E, F and G;
** Creston Indian Reserve No. 1;
* (c) that part of the Columbia-Shuswap Regional District comprising:
** the City of Revelstoke;
** the Town of Golden;
** subdivisions A and B; and
* (d) Tobacco Plains Indian Reserve No. 2.
The riding borders the US states of Idaho, Montana and Washington, more than any other Canadian riding.

## History

This district was created in 1996 from parts of Kootenay East and Kootenay West—Revelstoke ridings.
It was amended in 2003 to include a small part of Kootenay—Boundary—Okanagan.
The 2012 federal electoral boundaries redistribution concluded that the electoral boundaries of Kootenay—Columbia should be adjusted, and a modified electoral district of the same name will be contested in future elections. The redefined Kootenay—Columbia gains the communities of Nelson, Salmo and Kaslo and their respective surrounding areas from the current electoral district of British Columbia Southern Interior, while losing Nakusp and area to the new district of South Okanagan—West Kootenay and Needles and area to the new district of North Okanagan—Shuswap. These new boundaries were legally defined in the 2013 representation order, which came into effect upon the call of the 42nd Canadian federal election, scheduled for October 2015.

## Demographics

Panethnic groups in Kootenay—Columbia (2011−2021) :
| Panethnic group | 2021 | 2021 | 2016 | 2016 | 2011 | 2011 |
| Panethnic group | Pop. | % | Pop. | % | Pop. | % |
| European | 103,130 | 87.28% | 98,250 | 89.24% | 96,335 | 91.17% |
| Indigenous | 9,040 | 7.65% | 7,865 | 7.14% | 6,305 | 5.97% |
| South Asian | 1,570 | 1.33% | 715 | 0.65% | 705 | 0.67% |
| East Asian | 1,555 | 1.32% | 1,290 | 1.17% | 1,220 | 1.15% |
| Southeast Asian | 1,360 | 1.15% | 890 | 0.81% | 385 | 0.36% |
| African | 630 | 0.53% | 460 | 0.42% | 255 | 0.24% |
| Latin American | 455 | 0.39% | 305 | 0.28% | 165 | 0.16% |
| Middle Eastern | 145 | 0.12% | 70 | 0.06% | 25 | 0.02% |
| Other | 270 | 0.23% | 255 | 0.23% | 245 | 0.23% |
| Total responses | 118,155 | 97.84% | 110,095 | 97.99% | 105,660 | 98.21% |
| Total population | 120,759 | 100% | 112,354 | 100% | 107,589 | 100% |
| Notes: Totals greater than 100% due to multiple origin responses. Demographics based on 2012 Canadian federal electoral redistribution riding boundaries. |||||||

## Members of Parliament

This riding has elected the following members of Parliament:
| Parliament | Years | Member | Party |
| Kootenay—Columbia Riding created from Kootenay East and Kootenay West—Revelstoke |||||
| 36th | 1997–2000 | Jim Abbott | Reform |
| 36th | 2000–2000 | Jim Abbott | Alliance |
| 37th | 2000–2003 | Jim Abbott | Alliance |
| 37th | 2003–2004 | Jim Abbott | Conservative |
| 38th | 2004–2006 | Jim Abbott | Conservative |
| 39th | 2006–2008 | Jim Abbott | Conservative |
| 40th | 2008–2011 | Jim Abbott | Conservative |
| 41st | 2011–2015 | David Wilks | Conservative |
| 42nd | 2015–2019 | Wayne Stetski | New Democratic |
| 43rd | 2019–2021 | Rob Morrison | Conservative |
| 44th | 2021–present | Rob Morrison | Conservative |

### Current member of Parliament

Its member of Parliament (MP) is Rob Morrison, first elected in 2019 as a Conservative candidate.

## Election results
### Columbia—Kootenay—Southern Rockies

2021 federal election redistributed results :
| Party | Vote | % |
| Conservative | 27,552 | 43.62 |
| New Democratic | 23,143 | 36.64 |
| Liberal | 5,648 | 8.94 |
| People's | 4,480 | 7.09 |
| Green | 2,341 | 3.71 |

### Kootenay—Columbia

vte2021 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Conservative | Rob Morrison | 28,056 | 43.2 | -1.6 | $110,837.35 |
| | New Democratic | Wayne Stetski | 23,986 | 36.9 | +2.5 | $127,647.85 |
| | Liberal | Robin Goldsbury | 5,879 | 9.0 | -0.1 | $10,113.73 |
| | People's | Sarah Bennett | 4,467 | 6.9 | +4.8 | $0.00 |
| | Green | Rana Nelson | 2,577 | 4.0 | -5.1 | $6,932.17 |
| Total valid votes/Expense limit | Total valid votes/Expense limit | Total valid votes/Expense limit | 64,965 | 99.5 | – | $152,723.52 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 317 | 0.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 65,282 | 68.4 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 95,518 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | Swing | -2.1 |
| Source: Elections Canada |||||||
vte2019 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Conservative | Rob Morrison | 30,168 | 44.81 | +8.03 | $100,780.99 |
| | New Democratic | Wayne Stetski | 23,149 | 34.38 | -2.84 | $91,351.20 |
| | Liberal | Robin Goldsbury | 6,151 | 9.14 | -10.35 | none listed |
| | Green | Abra Brynne | 6,145 | 9.13 | +2.62 | $17,085.86 |
| | People's | Rick Stewart | 1,378 | 2.05 | - | none listed |
| | Animal Protection | Trev Miller | 339 | 0.50 | - | $1,850.63 |
| Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | 67,330 | 99.61 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 266 | 0.39 | +0.08 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 67,596 | 72.68 | -0.28 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 93,002 |
| | Conservative gain from New Democratic | Conservative gain from New Democratic | Swing | Swing | +5.44 |
| Source: Elections Canada |||||||
vte2015 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | New Democratic | Wayne Stetski | 23,529 | 37.23 | -1.62 | $90,414.74 |
| | Conservative | David Wilks | 23,247 | 36.78 | -13.31 | $108,293.89 |
| | Liberal | Don Johnston | 12,315 | 19.48 | +16.00 | $11,677.75 |
| | Green | Bill Green | 4,115 | 6.51 | +0.08 | $43,921.84 |
| Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | 63,206 | 99.69 | | $279,227.99 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 197 | 0.31 | – |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 63,403 | 72.97 | – |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 86,895 |
| | New Democratic gain from Conservative | New Democratic gain from Conservative | Swing | Swing | +5.84 |
| Source: Elections Canada |||||||
2011 federal election redistributed results :
| Party | Vote | % |
| Conservative | 26,447 | 50.09 |
| New Democratic | 20,510 | 38.84 |
| Green | 3,395 | 6.43 |
| Liberal | 1,841 | 3.49 |
| Others | 610 | 1.16 |
vte2011 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | David Wilks | 23,910 | 55.88 | -3.71 |
| | New Democratic | Mark Shmigelsky | 14,199 | 33.18 | +10.54 |
| | Green | William Green | 2,547 | 5.95 | -4.06 |
| | Liberal | Betty Aitchison | 1,496 | 3.50 | -4.25 |
| | Independent | Brent Bush | 636 | 1.49 | – |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 42,788 | 99.67 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 142 | 0.33 | -0.00 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 42,930 | 63.45 | +3.69 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 67,663 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | Swing | -7.13 |
vte2008 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Conservative | Jim Abbott | 23,402 | 59.59 | +5.24 | $53,536 |
| | New Democratic | Leon R. Pendleton | 8,892 | 22.64 | -3.23 | |
| | Green | Ralph Moore | 3,933 | 10.01 | +3.91 | $1,084 |
| | Liberal | Betty Aitchison | 3,044 | 7.75 | -5.98 | $1,960 |
| Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | Total valid votes/expense limit | 39,271 | 100.0 | | $99,498 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 131 | 0.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 39,402 | 59.76 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | Swing | +4.24 |
vte2006 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Conservative | Jim Abbott | 22,181 | 54.35 | +2.33 | $76,689 |
| | New Democratic | Brent Bush | 10,560 | 25.87 | +2.05 | $20,927 |
| | Liberal | Jhim Burwell | 5,443 | 13.33 | -4.59 | $8,240 |
| | Green | Clements Verhoeven | 2,490 | 6.10 | -0.13 | $3,632 |
| | Canadian Action | Thomas Frederick Sima | 132 | 0.32 | – | $0 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 40,806 | 100.0 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 129 | 0.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 40,935 | 64.39 | -0.3 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | Swing | +0.14 |
2004 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Conservative | Jim Abbott | 21,336 | 52.02 | -21.48 | $89,327 |
| | New Democratic | Brent Bush | 9,772 | 23.82 | +15.11 | $32,311 |
| | Liberal | Ross Priest | 7,351 | 17.92 | +3.18 | $36,595 |
| | Green | Carmen Gustafson | 2,558 | 6.23 | +3.17 | |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 41,017 | 100.0 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 130 | 0.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 41,147 | 65.1 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | Swing | -18.30 |
| Conservative vote is compared to the total of the Canadian Alliance vote and Progressive Conservative vote in 2000 election. |||||||
2000 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Alliance | Jim Abbott | 25,663 | 67.78 | +5.87 | $62,316 |
| | Liberal | Delvin R. Chatterson | 5,581 | 14.74 | -2.89 | $18,971 |
| | New Democratic | Andrea Dunlop | 3,297 | 8.71 | -5.49 | $3,732 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Jerry Pirie | 2,165 | 5.72 | +1.63 | $340 |
| | Green | Jubilee Rose Cacaci | 1,158 | 3.06 | +0.89 | |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 37,864 | 100.0 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 139 | 0.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 38,003 | 65.2 | +0.3 |
| | Alliance hold | Alliance hold | Swing | Swing | +4.38 |
| Canadian Alliance vote is compared to the Reform vote in 1997 election. |||||||
1997 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | Expenditures |
| | Reform | Jim Abbott | 22,387 | 61.91 | $49,956 |
| | Liberal | Mark Shmigelsky | 6,373 | 17.63 | $28,560 |
| | New Democratic | Greg Edwards | 5,133 | 14.20 | $29,778 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Mark Palmer | 1,479 | 4.09 | $322 |
| | Green | Anna Rowe | 786 | 2.17 | |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 36,158 | 100.0 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 131 | 0.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 36,289 | 64.9 |
| This riding was created from parts of Kootenay East and Kootenay West—Revelstoke, both of which elected Reform candidates in the previous election. Jim Abbott was the incumbent from Kootenay East. |||||||

## Adjacent ridings

* British Columbia Southern Interior
* Kamloops—Thompson—Cariboo
* Okanagan—Shuswap