| Kootenay East | |
| Province: | British Columbia |
| Prov-Status: | active |
| Prov-Created: | 1966 |
| Prov-Election-First: | 1966 |
| Prov-Election-Last: | 2020 |
| Prov-Rep: | Tom Shypitka |
| Prov-Rep-Party: | United |
| Prov-Rep-Party-Link: | BC United |
| Demo-Census-Date: | 2001 |
| Demo-Pop: | 38503 |
| Demo-Area: | 10275 |
| Demo-Cd: | Regional District of East Kootenay |
| Demo-Csd: | Cranbrook, Fernie, Sparwood, Elkford |
Kootenay East (name in effect from 2009 onwards, formerly Kootenay from 1966 to 2001 and East Kootenay from 2001 to 2009) is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada. It was created before the 1966 election by the merger of Cranbrook and Fernie ridings, and despite its long period under the "Kootenay" moniker, never extended to cover more than a fraction of the whole "Kootenay" region.
Under the 2021 British Columbia electoral redistribution the riding will be renamed Kootenay-Rockies.[1]
For other historical or current ridings in the Kootenay region, please see Kootenay (electoral districts).
| Population, 2001 | 38,503 | |
| Population change, 1996–2001 | 0.7% | |
| Area (km2) | 10,275 | |
| Population density (people per km2) | 3.7 |
As of the 2020 provincial election, Kootenay East comprises the southern portion of the Regional District of East Kootenay. It is located in southeastern British Columbia and is bordered by Alberta to the east and Montana, United States to the south. Communities in the electoral district consist of Cranbrook, Fernie, Sparwood, and Elkford.[2]
Addition of St. Mary's Indian Reserve. Change name from East Kootenay to Kootenay East
Small addition to western border.Change name from Kootenay to East Kootenay
Its MLA is Tom Shypitka. He was first elected in 2017. This riding has elected the following MLAs:
| Assembly | Years | Member | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cranbrook and Fernie prior to 1966 | ||||
| 28th | 1966–1969 | Leo Nimsick | New Democratic | |
| 29th | 1969–1972 | |||
| 30th | 1972–1975 | |||
| 31st | 1975–1979 | George Haddad | Social Credit | |
| 32nd | 1979–1983 | Terry Segarty | ||
| 33rd | 1983–1986 | |||
| 34th | 1986–1991 | Anne Edwards | New Democratic | |
| 35th | 1991–1996 | |||
| 36th | 1996–2001 | Erda Walsh | ||
| 37th | 2001–2005 | Liberal | ||
| 38th | 2005–2009 | |||
| 39th | 2009–2013 | |||
| 40th | 2013–2017 | |||
| 41st | 2017–2020 | Tom Shypitka | ||
| 42nd | 2020–2023 | |||
| 2023–present | BC United | |||
|-|- |NDP|Erda Walsh|align="right"|7,339|align="right"|43.72%|align="right"||align="right"|$54,902|- style="background:white;"! style="text-align:right;" colspan="3"|Total Valid Votes!align="right"|16,788!align="right"|100%|- style="background:white;"! style="text-align:right;" colspan="3"|Total Rejected Ballots!align="right"|111!align="right"|0.66%|- style="background:white;"! style="text-align:right;" colspan="3"|Turnout!align="right"|16,899!align="right"|60.03%|}
|-|- |NDP|Erda Walsh|align="right"|3,638|align="right"|22.05%|align="right"||align="right"|$41,196
|- |NDP|Erda Walsh|align="right"|6,398|align="right"|38.59%|align="right"||align="right"|$50,043|-|Independent|Marko Makar|align="right"|215|align="right"|1.30%|align="right"||align="right"|$2,707
|- |NDP|Anne Edwards|align="right"|7,352|align="right"|46.49%|align="right"||align="right"|$44,609|-
|-|Liberal|Paul R. Kershaw|align="right"|539|align="right"|3.23%|align="right"||align="right"|unknown|Progressive Conservative|James G. Smith|align="right"|499|align="right"|2.99%|align="right"||align="right"|unknown|- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Total valid votes!align="right"|16,687 !align="right"|100.00%!align="right"||- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Total rejected ballots!align="right"|271!align="right"|!align="right"||- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Turnout!align="right"|%!align="right"|!align="right"||}
|-|Liberal|Kory Palmer|align="right"|347|align="right"|1.99%|align="right"||align="right"|unknown|- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Total valid votes!align="right"|17,411!align="right"|100.00%!align="right"||- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Total rejected ballots!align="right"|208!align="right"|!align="right"||- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Turnout!align="right"|%!align="right"|!align="right"||}
|-|Progressive Conservative|Roy Wilburn Paul|align="right"|975|align="right"|7.80%|align="right"||align="right"|unknown|- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Total valid votes!align="right"|12,492!align="right"|100.00%!align="right"||- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Total rejected ballots!align="right"|102!align="right"|!align="right"||- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Turnout!align="right"|%!align="right"|!align="right"||}
|-|- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Total valid votes!align="right"|15,138!align="right"|100.00%!align="right"||- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Total rejected ballots!align="right"|180!align="right"|!align="right"||- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Turnout!align="right"|%!align="right"|!align="right"||}
|-|Liberal|Harry Edwards Caldwell|align="right"|4,267|align="right"|38.26%|align="right"||align="right"|unknown|Conservative|David John Reeves|align="right"|4,169|align="right"|30.38%|align="right"||align="right"|unknown|- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Total valid votes!align="right"|13,721 !align="right"|100.00%!align="right"||- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Total rejected ballots!align="right"|180!align="right"|!align="right"||- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Turnout!align="right"|%!align="right"|!align="right"||}
|-|Social Credit|Harry J. Broadhurst|align="right"|4,267|align="right"|38.26%|align="right"||align="right"|unknown|Liberal|Henry Nelson|align="right"|2,604|align="right"|23.55%|align="right"||align="right"|unknown|- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Total valid votes!align="right"|11,153 !align="right"|100.00%!align="right"||- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Total rejected ballots!align="right"|173!align="right"|!align="right"||- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Turnout!align="right"|%!align="right"|!align="right"||}
|-|Liberal|Harry McKay|align="right"|2,123|align="right"|24.13%|align="right"||align="right"|unknown|- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Total valid votes!align="right"|8,798!align="right"|100.00%!align="right"||- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Total rejected ballots!align="right"|54!align="right"|!align="right"||- bgcolor="white"!align="right" colspan=3|Turnout!align="right"|%!align="right"|!align="right"||}