VANCOUVER — In the last election in Skeena, Ellis Ross of the BC Liberal Party took 52.23 per cent of the vote, defeating Bruce Alan Bidgood of the NDP by a margin of 8.94 percentage points.

Ross is up for re-election this year. Bidgood, however, is not running again.

Nicole Halbauer is running for the NDP.

Martin Holzbauer is running as an Independent.

The Skeena riding includes the communities of Kitimat and Terrace.

There are 21,262 registered voters in the riding, compared to 20,779 in the last election.

As of Oct. 20, 1,765 vote-by-mail packages had been issued to registered voters.

The previous voter turnout rate in the riding was 62.76 per cent, compared to 61.18 per cent provincewide.

At dissolution, the NDP held 41 seats, the BC Liberal Party had 41 seats and the Green party two seats. Two seats were held by Independents and one seat was vacant.

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Last election statistics at a glance: 

Previous candidates (in order of rank):

1. Ross, Ellis

Affiliation: BC Liberal Party

Total valid votes: 6,772

Vote share: 52.23 per cent

2. Bidgood, Bruce Alan

Affiliation: NDP

Total valid votes: 5,613

Vote share: 43.29 per cent

3. Ritchie, Merv

Affiliation: Land Air Water Party

Total valid votes: 580

Vote share: 4.47 per cent

Previous riding statistics at a glance: 

Total registered voters: 20,779

Total registered voters who voted: 13,040

Voter turnout: 62.76 per cent

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 21, 2020 and was generated automatically.

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Digital Data Desk, The Canadian Press