Where Nanaimo’s MLA candidates stand on addictions care, family doctors and Island rail

B.C. votes on Saturday, Oct. 24.

In September, The Discourse asked Nanaimo readers what they wanted to know from candidates in the local election, which took place on Oct. 17. Many of the issues raised are the province’s responsibility, so we turned three reader questions into a questionnaire for every MLA candidate in Nanaimo-Gabriola Island and Nanaimo-Lantzville. Candidates were asked to respond with a maximum of three sentences.

In The Discourse’s survey, 72 per cent of Nanaimo respondents named homelessness and social supports as a top issue, 60 per cent named the environment and 52 per cent named health care. A few readers specifically asked about restoring passenger rail on the Island Corridor. This was a self-selected reader survey, not a poll.

Four of the seven candidates answered by the deadline. The NDP candidates have submitted similar responses, this is not a mistake.

Answers are grouped by riding and by question, with candidates in alphabetical order by last name. They appear as candidates sent them. Where a candidate makes a claim we could check, we’ve added a note in text or at the bottom. For candidates who didn’t respond, we’ve linked to their party’s platform and, where we could find it, what they’ve said on the issue elsewhere.

Not sure which riding you’re in? Look up your address with Elections BC’s Where to Vote tool, or see our Nanaimo’s guide to the 2026 B.C. election for candidate links, party platforms and how to vote.

Nanaimo-Gabriola Island

Candidates: Mark MacDonald, Conservative Party; Sheila Malcolmson, BC NDP (incumbent); Anna Mary McKenzie, BC Green Party.

1. How do you propose supporting people with severe mental illness and addictions living on the streets?

Mark MacDonald, Conservative Party

MacDonald did not respond by the deadline.

“The solution is not free drugs, it’s programs to get people off drugs, and those who can’t or will not help themselves need to be looked after in housing to get them off the street.” (Gabriola Sounder, Oct. 14)

“She said she was there to make the man feel better and I told her she was an enabler who doesn’t help these people at all. They need to get out of this situation that’s hurting them and hurting the community, but downtown is a scary place.” (Nanaimo News Bulletin, Oct. 16)

See their party profile and the Conservative Party of B.C.’s platform.

Sheila Malcolmson, BC NDP, incumbent

We’ve been tackling mental health and addiction challenges on all fronts, and it’s making a difference: more people are in stable homes (we’ve opened hundreds for people who were unhoused), more can get addictions care (we’ve opened 80 treatment beds in Nanaimo and 860 B.C.-wide), and we’ve got two new nurse/police teams that divert 911 calls toward healthcare and take the pressure off RCMP, ambulance and fire.

For people caught in a cycle of eviction because of addiction, we’ve opened Complex Care Housing in Nanaimo and are building more on Boxwood right now [22 homes at 1850 Boxwood Rd., expected to open in early 2028], with homecare visits that keep people taking (for example) antipsychotic medication daily; next we’ll learn from a new Victoria pilot (where people exiting bed-based addiction treatment unhoused can stay in new recovery housing as long as they pass drug tests) to design Nanaimo’s recovery-oriented housing on Terminal Street that will open next year.

And for those in most severe crises, who are overdosing repeatedly and are found by a doctor to be a danger to themselves, Secure Care is open now at Alouette in Maple Ridge and at Surrey Pretrial, underway in Prince George and Surrey [Alouette has since been renamed Spiritwood Homes], and we want to have one in the Island Health region too (people here can now be admitted to Alouette or Surrey now, or to Redfish in Coquitlam).

Editor’s Note: The recovery-oriented housing is at 250 Terminal Ave., now re-addressed as 250 Bryden St. BC Housing’s project page (updated Sept. 3, 2026) estimates construction will start in spring 2027 and the 50 homes will open in fall 2028.

Anna Mary McKenzie, BC Green Party

We need housing first, and supports for people to meet their basic needs. We need to increase a living wage, build more affordable homes, and stop maintaining the status quo which contributes to loss of life. How is someone supposed to recover if they have nowhere to sleep, nothing to eat and spotty health care services? No more Band-aid solutions – we need to go right to the source. 

2. Many Nanaimo residents cannot find a family doctor. What would you do to help people access primary health care?

Mark MacDonald, Conservative Party

MacDonald did not respond by the deadline.

Party position (Conservative Party): “We will work with doctors, nurses and other health professionals to improve patient care, train and recruit more doctors, nurses, and staff, remove barriers that prevent qualified professionals from using their full skills, and enforce safety and drug laws in hospitals and clinics to reduce burnout.” (BC Conservatives platform)

See their party profile and the Conservative Party of B.C.’s platform.

Sheila Malcolmson, BC NDP, incumbent

So people get the primary care they need, already we’ve (1) removed barriers to practice for nurse practitioners, internationally-trained doctors, and pharmacists, (2) opened a new medical school [at SFU in Surrey, first students August 2026], and (3) in Nanaimo opened two Urgent Primary Care Centres plus BC’s first nurse practitioner clinic [Vancouver Island’s first, and the first under B.C.’s primary care strategy, in 2020].

Next, we’ll triple our highly-successful US healthcare worker recruitment program: with a big local boost from the amazing Maffin volunteer team [Tod Maffin’s volunteer Healthcare Infusions project], our BC-wide work has already attracted 800 Americans (but the Conservatives called it a “gimmick” they’d cancel).

All this work is getting results: one million more people have a primary care provider since the BCNDP came in [since 2018, per the Health Ministry], and we’re attaching 4,000 more each week, but some people are still waiting, so we can’t afford to stop now.

Editor’s Note: The BC NDP campaign says more than 800 U.S.-trained health workers have accepted jobs in B.C.; the latest provincial government figure, from April 2026, was more than 500 as of February 2026, including 109 doctors and 315 nurses.

Anna Mary McKenzie, BC Green Party

We need to attract more doctors and nurses to live in this beautiful community. The BC Greens propose Community Health Centres (CHCs) to address the shortage of family doctors. The world is challenging right now, so we propose expanding mental health service coverage under the universal healthcare plan.

3. Will you commit provincial money to restoring passenger rail on the Island Corridor (E&N)?

Mark MacDonald, Conservative Party

MacDonald did not respond by the deadline.

The Conservative platform does not mention the E&N or Island rail.

See their party profile and the Conservative Party of B.C.’s platform.

Sheila Malcolmson, BC NDP, incumbent

We are expanding public transit infrastructure to fight congestion and reduce costs, and it would be so good to have passenger rail on the Island again, but with the $5 billion hole in the Conservative’s budget, I’m afraid they’d cut transit. We recognize the importance of the Island Rail Corridor and have consistently supported local and regional discussions on its preservation, but firmly believe that any potential future use must involve First Nations. We look forward to the results of the Reconciliation Corridor Initiative developed by the Esquimalt and Songhees nations together with Greater Victoria mayors and the CRD, and the study underway with federal government funding [a Victoria West–Langford light rail study].

Editor’s Note: The ‘$5 billion hole’ is the BC NDP’s description of the Conservative platform. The Conservatives’ costed platform projects deficits falling from $13.7 billion to $10.8 billion by 2029 and relies on economic growth forecasts above those of independent economists.

Anna Mary McKenzie, BC Green Party

Yes. With the consent and full partnership of the Snuneymuxw First Nation, I support restoring the Island Corridor passenger rail. We need to be prepared to transfer goods to all parts of the island in the face of the rising costs and the current trade was with our southern neighbours.

Nanaimo-Lantzville

Candidates: George Anderson, BC NDP (incumbent); Kelsey Pringle, Conservative Party; Pepper Saltman, Communist Party of B.C.; Sharleen Weatherley, BC Green Party.

1. How do you propose supporting people with severe mental illness and addictions living on the streets?

George Anderson, BC NDP, incumbent

First: Build homes, and our government has done that, with 9,900 permanent supportive homes [built or underway since 2017], a doubling of shelter spaces [since 2017] and dedicated focus on making sure everyone has a safe home they can afford.

Second: Treat people when they’re ready for treatment, and our government has done that, with 35 Foundry Centres open or coming and Access Central, which has connected more than 40,000 callers to treatment services.

Third: Care for those who are in crisis, which our government is doing by expanding compassionate involuntary care for those at real risk of doing harm to themselves or others.

Editor’s Note: The province says Access Central received 34,583 calls from its 2023 launch to December 2025, and 9,210 clients were clinically assessed for care.

Kelsey Pringle, Conservative Party

Pringle did not respond by the deadline.

“If people are dealing with addiction issues, we need to address how to support them, and how do we make sure that they’re supported after they dry out and come out of treatment. We need to make sure that if people are having mental-health issues that they have beds and the proper psychiatric care they need.” (Nanaimo News Bulletin, Oct. 16)

“Get people off the streets and into treatment and care, and make downtowns and parks safe for everyone again.” (Kelsey Pringle campaign website)

See their campaign website and the Conservative Party of B.C.’s platform.

Pepper Saltman, Communist Party of B.C.

To better help those who are unhoused and exposed to toxic drugs in Nanaimo, the Communist Party of BC favours evidence-based harm reduction and a massive expansion of social housing and services. We will expand the Safer Supply program, mental health services, and long-term recovery programs. We will end involuntary care.

Editor’s Note: Since Dec. 30, 2025, B.C. has required all prescribed safer supply doses to be taken in front of a pharmacist or health professional, with limited exemptions.

Sharleen Weatherley, BC Green Party

Every person in B.C. deserves to have the health care that they need, and that includes protecting people from the toxic drug supply by providing people with regulated, pharmaceutical alternatives and access to supervised consumption sites. Care for people experiencing addictions and homelessness involves increasing access to transitional and public housing projects, with wrap-around health care and harm reduction principles. The BC Greens will also ensure that people who are experiencing co-occurring mental illness receive integrated, evidence-based and comprehensive treatment.

2. Many Nanaimo residents cannot find a family doctor. What would you do to help people access primary health care?

George Anderson, BC NDP, incumbent

The BC NDP have made great strides in attracting health care professionals – more than 800 from the US alone – and with more doctors per capita than any other province, it means that 4,000 British Columbians are being attached to a family doctor every week [or nurse practitioner]. As our population grows, we know we’ll need more, which is why the BC NDP government opened the first new medical school in western Canada in a generation at Simon Fraser University in Surrey. This is all in contrast to a poorly thought out BC Conservative plan which will ultimately lead to health care cuts, as we’ve seen under other conservative governments.

Editor’s Note: The BC NDP campaign says more than 800 U.S.-trained health workers have accepted jobs in B.C.; the latest provincial government figure, from April 2026, was more than 500 as of February 2026, including 109 doctors and 315 nurses.

Kelsey Pringle, Conservative Party

Pringle did not respond by the deadline.

“A cardiac cath lab at Nanaimo Regional General Hospital, more family doctors, and shorter waits for the care you need.” (Kelsey Pringle campaign website)

“Families in Nanaimo–Lantzville and across Central Vancouver Island should be able to access timely primary, emergency, diagnostic and specialist care close to home.” (Kelsey Pringle campaign website)

See their campaign website and the Conservative Party of B.C.’s platform.

Pepper Saltman, Communist Party of B.C.

The Communist Party will ensure every family can get a general practitioner. We will train more physicians and nurses, provide incentives for healthcare students from remote areas of BC to practice in their home communities, and make it easier for low-income students to study medicine in Canada or Cuba. We will also demand federal action on pharmacare, optical, dental, and mental health.

Sharleen Weatherley, BC Green Party

British Columbians deserve to [be] healthy, and to be able to access the care that they need, when they need it. The BC Greens will aim to establish an integrated Community Health Centre in every riding in the province, which will help all residents access longitudinal, culturally-safe care.

3. Will you commit provincial money to restoring passenger rail on the Island Corridor (E&N)?

George Anderson, BC NDP, incumbent

The BC NDP has consistently been supportive of local and regional discussions on the future use of this important corridor that involve First Nations, because we know that mass transportation — including inter-city rail is good public policy.

We are encouraged by the Reconciliation Corridor Initiative developed by the Esquimalt and Songhees nations together with Greater Victoria mayors and the CRD, and the study underway with federal government support.

We look forward to the results of that work and opportunities that may be brought forward from local and regional discussions along the whole corridor.

Kelsey Pringle, Conservative Party

Pringle did not respond by the deadline.

The Conservative platform does not mention the E&N or Island rail.

See their campaign website and the Conservative Party of B.C.’s platform.

Pepper Saltman, Communist Party of B.C.

The Communist Party’s priority is to expand and unite B.C.’s regional systems into one free and accessible province-wide bus transit system. The intercity buses on Vancouver Island have a ton of room for improvement in routes and frequency. This can be done sooner than restoring passenger rail.

Sharleen Weatherley, BC Green Party

Yes! Rail has historically been integral to connecting people and goods across B.C., and will become integral again, as we transition away from fossil fuel-based ways of getting around this province. The BC Greens will work with First Nations and the Island Corridor Foundation to determine the next steps for Vancouver Island rail. Additionally, creating a plan for a multi-use trail alongside the Island Rail Corridor would provide us with an internationally renowned ecotourism experience.