Incumbent BC NDP MLA Harwinder Sandhu is running for a third consecutive term representing Vernon-Lumby in the October 24 British Columbia provincial election. Sandhu cited housing builds, healthcare investments, and forestry worker support as key achievements, while addressing affordability and trade tariff pressures as ongoing priorities.
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Parm Sandhu characterised her choice to contest the B.C. provincial election and defend her Vernon-Lumby MLA seat as one that required little deliberation. The B.C. NDP candidate seeking another term told reporters on Wednesday, Oct. 14, that holding the riding's seat over the past six years had been a deeply valued experience, and that what drew her back to the ballot was a sense that residents still lacked adequate representation.
"I saw the community still needed a strong voice for people, for all people, so that's what encouraged me to put my name on the ballot," she said.
Citing her first term as a reference point, Sandhu contended that the office's record of seeing projects through from launch to completion reflects a broader pattern of delivering on its stated commitments. Reaching every constituent equally, she stated, stands as the top item on her agenda.
Supporting families and older residents in navigating available programmes and services ranks among the priorities Sandhu has outlined as she weighs a run for a third term. Pointing to housing construction figures under her NDP administration, she cited projects delivered in the Vernon area — among them student accommodation at Okanagan College, alongside units built for seniors, families, and people requiring supportive housing.
Questions about how the NDP managed healthcare policy drew attention throughout the campaign. Local progress on the matter was described by Sandhu as the product of efforts carried out within the community. Among the points she raised were Vernon's newly established second urgent primary care centre and her role in driving efforts to broaden mental health services at Vernon Jubilee Hospital.
The psychiatric ward's 2029 target completion date remains in place, Sandhu said, even though construction has not yet started as originally planned — a delay that has drawn opposition criticism — though the timeline could shift, with Sandhu noting that the numbers are still being worked through. Sandhu noted that delivering the outcome remained a personal priority, pointing to what she described as a pressing need for it to come through.
Reflecting on two terms in the legislature, Sandhu noted that the volume of inaccurate information circulating about her riding had caught her off guard, pointing to a roughly 30 per cent drop in Vernon's homeless count between 2023 and 2025 as one data point she said tends to get overlooked. On the doorstep, she said she is hearing that affordability, healthcare, and housing top residents' concerns, though she added that constituents are also reporting noticing lower rent prices and new healthcare investments.
All of this is unfolding against a provincial backdrop shaped by U.S. tariff pressures that NDP leader David Eby cited as a factor in dissolving the legislature and calling a snap election to seek a broader mandate. Sandhu argued that pulling U.S. liquor from B.C. store shelves was a way to apply counter-pressure on the United States, with the stated aim of securing a fair arrangement for forestry workers whose livelihoods have long been affected by softwood lumber tariffs.
A $120 million Forestry Jobs Protection Fund, put forward by Sandhu, would channel dedicated assistance toward workers, mill operations, and communities facing the threat of closure. Over the past several years, facilities operated by Canfor in Prince George and Domtar in Port Alberni — both pulp and paper operations — have been among those to shut their doors, part of a broader wave of mill closures across the region.
Sandhu outlined a commitment to maintaining the same level of availability and work ethic in a second term, telling voters that her approach to the role centres on honesty, a capacity to represent constituents, consistency, and a willingness to hear different viewpoints. Voters across British Columbia will head to the polls on Saturday, October 24, when the province holds its general election day.