Going into the 2024 B.C. Nathan Cullen had never lost an election in either the federal or provincial arena but that all changed tonight (Oct. 19) as Conservative Sharon Hartwell upset the incumbent NDP cabinet minister.

Black Press called the race for Hartwell at 9:30 p.m. with 25 of 29 ballot boxes counted and Hartwell ahead by more than 1,000 votes.

When the call was made, NDP incumbent Nathan Cullen was in second place by 12 percentage points with Christian Heritage Party's Rod Taylor and Green Party candidate Gamlakyeltxw (William Marsden) trailing well behind.

Prior to turning to provincial politics, Hartwell served a term and a half as a Telkwa village councillor before becoming mayor of Telkwa for 12 years during which she championed the interests of small and rural communities. 

During her time as mayor she represented small communities provincially as the Small Community Representative at UBCM; served as the chair of the North West Regional Hospital District; was elected a member of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) and served as vice-chair of Transportation and Infrastructure.

Since the riding was created in 1991, it has been held by the NDP except for the period from 2001-2009 when Liberal Dennis MacKay was the representative.

On election day polls had Cullen as the heavy favourite to win the riding.

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