# Nanaimo—Alberni

Nanaimo—Alberni was a federal electoral district in British Columbia, Canada, that was represented in the House of Commons of Canada from 1979 to 1988. It was subsequently recreated and was represented in the House of Commons from 1997 to 2015.

## Demographics

| Population, 2001 | 112,972 |
| Electors | 87,088 |
| Area (km$^2$) | 8,324.98 |
| Population density (people per km$^2$) | 15.3 |
Nanaimo—Alberni has the highest median age of all federal electoral districts in Canada (50.1 years of age).

## Geography

From 1979 to 1988, it consisted of:
* the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District,
* the Nanaimo Regional District,
* (Lasqueti Island and the adjacent smaller islands in the Powell River Regional District,
* the northwest part of Electoral Area H of the Cowichan Valley Regional District.
The present district includes Lasqueti Island, the Regional District of Alberni-Clayoquot, and all of the Regional District of Nanaimo except the extreme southeastern part, including but the extreme northern part of Nanaimo. The southern part of Nanaimo is part of the Nanaimo—Cowichan electoral district.

## History

This electoral district was originally created in 1976 from parts of Comox—Alberni and Nanaimo—Cowichan—The Islands ridings.
It was abolished in 1987 when it was redistributed into Comox—Alberni and Nanaimo—Cowichan. It was then re-created in 1996 from those two ridings.
The 2012 electoral redistribution will see this riding dissolved into the new ridings of Courtenay—Alberni and Nanaimo—Ladysmith for the 2015 election.

### Members of Parliament

This riding has elected the following members of Parliament:
| Parliament | Years | Member | Party |
| Riding created from Comox—Alberni and Nanaimo—Cowichan—The Islands |||||
| 31st | 1979–1980 | Edward Allan Miller | New Democratic |
| 32nd | 1980–1984 | Edward Allan Miller | New Democratic |
| 33rd | 1984–1988 | Ted Schellenberg | Progressive Conservative |
| Riding dissolved into Comox—Alberni and Nanaimo—Cowichan |||||
| Riding re-created from Comox—Alberni and Nanaimo—Cowichan |||||
| 36th | 1997–2000 | Bill Gilmour | Reform |
| 36th | 2000–2000 | Bill Gilmour | Alliance |
| 37th | 2000–2003 | James Lunney | Alliance |
| 37th | 2003–2004 | James Lunney | Conservative |
| 38th | 2004–2006 | James Lunney | Conservative |
| 39th | 2006–2008 | James Lunney | Conservative |
| 40th | 2008–2011 | James Lunney | Conservative |
| 41st | 2011–2015 | James Lunney | Conservative |
| 41st | 2015–2015 | James Lunney | Independent |
| Riding dissolved into Courtenay—Alberni and Nanaimo—Ladysmith |||||

## Election results
### Nanaimo—Alberni, 1997–2015

2011 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | James Lunney | 30,469 | 46.42 | -0.26 |
| | New Democratic | Zenaida Maartman | 25,165 | 38.34 | +6.59 |
| | Liberal | Renée Miller | 4,984 | 7.59 | -4.44 |
| | Green | Myron Jespersen | 4,482 | 6.83 | -0.15 |
| | Pirate | Jesse Schroeder | 363 | 0.55 | – |
| | Christian Heritage | Frank Wagner | 94 | 0.14 | -0.14 |
| | Marxist–Leninist | Barbara Biley | 81 | 0.12 | -0.13 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 65,638 | 100.0 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 165 | 0.25 | +0.05 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 65,803 | 67.38 |
| Eligible voters | Eligible voters | Eligible voters | 97,661 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | Swing | -3.42 |
2008 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Conservative | James Lunney | 28,930 | 46.68 | +5.32 | $76,199 |
| | New Democratic | Zeni Maartman | 19,680 | 31.75 | -0.47 | $47,561 |
| | Green | John Fryer | 7,457 | 12.03 | +6.68 | $22,852 |
| | Liberal | Richard Pesik | 5,578 | 9.00 | -10.05 | $4,791 |
| | Christian Heritage | Frank Wagner | 176 | 0.28 | +0.11 | |
| | Marxist–Leninist | Barbara Biley | 155 | 0.25 | +0.11 | |
| Total valid votes/Expense limit | Total valid votes/Expense limit | Total valid votes/Expense limit | 61,976 | 100.0 | | $95,019 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 124 | 0.20 | -0.04 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 62,100 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | Swing | +2.90 |
2006 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Conservative | James Lunney | 26,102 | 41.36 | +2.30 | $86,796 |
| | New Democratic | Manjeet Uppal | 20,335 | 32.22 | -0.08 | $78,268 |
| | Liberal | Jim Stewart | 12,023 | 19.05 | -0.80 | $25,983 |
| | Green | David Wright | 3,379 | 5.35 | -2.00 | $1,469 |
| | Independent | R.L. Dusty Miller | 920 | 1.45 | – | |
| | Christian Heritage | Diana E. Lifton | 136 | 0.17 | – | $230 |
| | Canadian Action | Jen Fisher-Bradley | 113 | 0.17 | -0.16 | $1,312 |
| | Marxist–Leninist | Barbara Biley | 94 | 0.14 | +0.01 | |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 63,102 | 100.0 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 149 | 0.24 | -0.04 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 63,251 | 68.80 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | Swing | +1.19 |
vte2004 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| | Conservative | James Lunney | 23,158 | 39.06 | −21.55 | $62,241 |
| | New Democratic | Scott Fraser | 19,152 | 32.30 | +17.78 | $54,710 |
| | Liberal | Hira Chopra | 11,770 | 19.85 | −0.84 | $29,462 |
| | Green | David Wright | 4,357 | 7.35 | – | $9,530 |
| | Marijuana | Michael Mann | 560 | 0.94 | −1.20 | |
| | Canadian Action | Diana E. Lifton | 201 | 0.33 | – | |
| | Marxist–Leninist | Barbara Biley | 80 | 0.13 | – | |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 59,278 | 100.00 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 169 | 0.28 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 59,447 | 68.26 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | Swing | −19.66 |
| 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 | James Lunney | 26,516 | 50.45 | +0.59 | $42,263 |
| | Liberal | Hira Chopra | 10,877 | 20.69 | -0.21 | $39,235 |
| | New Democratic | Bill Holdom | 7,635 | 14.52 | -7.68 | $7,246 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Bill McCullough | 5,340 | 10.16 | +4.99 | $8,619 |
| | Marijuana | Donald Lavallee | 1,125 | 2.14 | – | $9 |
| | Independent | Brunie Brunie | 830 | 1.57 | – | $616 |
| | Natural Law | Marty Howe | 235 | 0.44 | -0.12 | |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 52,558 | 100.0 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 163 | 0.31 | -0.05 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 52,721 | 64.94 | -2.19 |
| | Alliance hold | Alliance hold | Swing | Swing | +0.40 |
| Canadian Alliance change is compared to the Reform Party in the 1997 election. |||||||
1997 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | Expenditures |
| | Reform | Bill Gilmour | 25,069 | 49.86 | $36,473 |
| | New Democratic | Bill Holdom | 11,162 | 22.20 | $35,683 |
| | Liberal | David Lobay | 10,513 | 20.90 | $52,031 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Garry Shepp | 2,602 | 5.17 | $18,929 |
| | Green | David Martin | 650 | 1.29 | |
| | Natural Law | Cliff Brown | 282 | 0.56 | $120 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 50,278 | 100.0 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 181 | 0.36 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 50,459 | 67.13 |
| This riding was created from parts of Comox—Alberni and Nanaimo—Cowichan, both of which elected a Reform Party candidate in the previous election. Bill Gilmour was the incumbent from Comox—Alberni. |||||||

### Nanaimo—Alberni, 1979–1988

1984 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Progressive Conservative | Ted Schellenberg | 27,410 | 45.81 | +11.00 |
| | New Democratic | Ted Miller | 25,659 | 42.88 | -6.31 |
| | Liberal | Joe Martin | 5,922 | 9.90 | -4.39 |
| | Green | Aileen Fletcher | 529 | 0.88 | – |
| | Communist | Mark F. Mosher | 231 | 0.39 | +0.03 |
| | Independent | Louis J. Lesosky | 83 | 0.14 | – |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 59,834 | 100.0 |
| | Progressive Conservative gain from New Democratic | Progressive Conservative gain from New Democratic | Swing | Swing | +8.66 |
1980 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | New Democratic | Ted Miller | 24,082 | 49.20 | +5.22 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Scott Van Alstine | 17,040 | 34.81 | +0.79 |
| | Liberal | Cecile McKinnon | 6,994 | 14.29 | -7.15 |
| | Rhinoceros | Frank Tee Pee Red Coffey | 591 | 1.21 | – |
| | Communist | Gary William Swann | 173 | 0.35 | -0.06 |
| | Marxist–Leninist | Allan H. Bezanson | 69 | 0.14 | -0.01 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 48,949 | 100.0 |
| | New Democratic hold | New Democratic hold | Swing | Swing | +2.22 |
1979 Canadian federal election :
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | New Democratic | Ted Miller | 21,304 | 43.98 |
| | Progressive Conservative | Scott Van Alstine | 16,478 | 34.02 |
| | Liberal | Hugh Anderson | 10,385 | 21.44 |
| | Communist | Mark F. Mosher | 199 | 0.41 |
| | Marxist–Leninist | Katie Fraser | 74 | 0.15 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 48,440 | 100.0 |
| This riding was created from parts of Comox—Alberni and Nanaimo—Cowichan—The Islands, which elected a Liberal and a New Democrat, respectively, in the previous election. Hugh Alan Anderson was the incumbent from Comox—Alberni. |||||||