Mel Arnold to serve fourth term in Parliament

Apr 29, 2025 | 12:29 PM

The Conservative that used to represent the now-dissolved North Okanagan-Shuswap riding will be returning to the House of Commons.

Preliminary results show Mel Arnold was elected as the Member of Parliament for the new Kamloops-Shuswap-Central Rockies in the 2025 Federal Election.

As of the latest update, Arnold earned over 52 per cent of the vote in the riding.

“This is the highest percentage I’ve had,” Arnold told Vernon Matters.

“The collapse of the NDP vote this time has made some difference, but I’m certainly glad I received more than 50 per cent of the electorate support in the riding.”

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Arnold was first elected in 2015, and with this win he will be serving a fourth term in office.

“I want to thank the residents of the former North Okanagan-Shuswap riding that are no longer my constituents anymore,” Arnold said.

“I’m glad to see my colleague, Scott Anderson, elected in the new Vernon-Lake Country-Monashee riding, and also my colleague here in Kamloops, Frank Caputo. I’m looking forward to connecting with them and working with them in Ottawa as well.”

Though the local candidate won his riding, the leader of the Conservative Party lost his. As of the latest report from Elections Canada, Poilievre had lost his seat in the Carleton, Ontario riding to Liberal Bruce Fanjoy.

Arnold said the party would have some decisions to make once the vote in that riding was finalized.

“It looks like a loss there, but that will be determined by the leader and eventually by caucus, I guess,” Arnold told Vernon Matters.

“We have a vote on whether we accept the Parliament Act, and we’ve seen the party climb in the polls under [Poilievre’s] leadership, and that will be decisions in the coming days. It’s all a little fresh right now.”

The local MP spent the previous term as Associate Shadow Minister of Fisheries, Oceans, and Coast Guard, and said he would be honoured to play a role with the Opposition in the coming term.

He also co-authored a Private Members Bill to have the term child pornography changed to child sexual abuse material in the criminal code, which passed in the House of Commons in 2024. He said he hopes to be in the position to bring forward more bills in the future.

As of the latest update, Elections Canada had the Liberal Party forming a minority government with 168 seats, while the Conservatives would be the Official Opposition with 144 seats. Arnold said he would work with his party to hold the government accountable in the coming term.

Arnold thanked his opponents, saying having candidates represent other parties is an important part of the democratic process. He also thanked the volunteers and families of his and the other candidates’ campaign teams for their work during the election.

by Liam Verster

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