The riding borders changed, the office lease was up in Courtenay and there’s a federal election next year.
Those were the three factors leading to John Duncan’s relocation back to Campbell River.
“This is pre-positioning for the next Parliament,” the North Island MP said last week from his office in Ottawa. From 1993 to 2006, Duncan had his riding office in Campbell River and then moved it to Courtenay – in the Comox Valley which has much larger voting population. Last year, however, the federal riding boundaries were shifted despite objections from Duncan. As a result, Courtenay moved into the next riding south, while adjacent Comox remained in the North Island riding, and Powell River was added to the North Island.
“This is sort of a retroactive riding,” joked Duncan, who noted that he represented Powell River from 1993-97 until it was shifted into the Sunshine Coast riding. The MP’s new riding office in Campbell River is located next to the downtown bus depot at 1250F Cedar St.
“My lease was up in Courtenay…so it made sense to come back to Campbell River where there’s a lot happening right now,” Duncan said, referring to the downtown building boom and the new (hydro generating station and hospital beginning this year.