Ronna-Rae Leonard

Ronna-Rae Leonard is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the 2017 provincial election.[1] She represents the electoral district of Courtenay-Comox as a member of the British Columbia New Democratic Party caucus.

Ronna-Rae Leonard MLA
Parliamentary Secretary for Seniors of British Columbia
Incumbent
Assumed office February 10, 2020
Preceded by	Anne Kang
Member of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly for Courtenay-Comox
Incumbent
Assumed office May 9, 2017
Preceded by	new district
Personal details
Political party	New Democratic Party

Initially declared elected by a margin of just nine votes over British Columbia Liberal Party candidate Jim Benninger on election day,[2] her victory was confirmed on May 24, 2017 after the count of absentee ballots widened her lead to 189 votes.[1]

Prior to her election to the legislature, Leonard was a municipal councillor in Courtenay.[3] She was the federal New Democratic Party's candidate in Vancouver Island North for the 2011 federal election, losing narrowly to John Duncan.

Electoral record

2011 Canadian federal election
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Duncan	27,206	46.11	+0.33
	New Democratic	Ronna-Rae Leonard	25,379	43.01	+1.58
	Liberal	Mike Holland	3,018	5.11	+0.93
	Green	Sue Moen	2,995	5.08	-2.90
	Independent	Jason Draper	304	0.52	-0.11
	Marxist–Leninist	Frank Martin	57	0.10	–
Total valid votes/Expense limit			59,003	100.0
Total rejected ballots			187	0.32
Turnout			59,190	66.39
Eligible voters			89,150
	Conservative hold		Swing		-0.62

2017 British Columbia general election: Courtenay-Comox
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	New Democratic	Ronna-Rae Leonard	10,886	37.36
	Liberal	Jim Benninger	10,697	36.72
	Green	Ernie Sellentin	5,351	18.37
	Conservative	Leah Catherine McCulloch	2,201	7.55
Total valid votes			29,135	100.00
Source: Elections BC[4]

References

1. "NDP wins final Courtenay-Comox count, securing Liberal minority in B.C.". CTV Vancouver, May 24, 2017.
2. "NDP Leonard declared Courtenay-Comox winner by nine-vote margin; Benninger not conceding". Comox Valley Record, May 10, 2017.
3. "NDP win in Courtenay-Comox; Clark will try to form government". Victoria Times-Colonist, May 24, 2017.
4. "2017 Provincial General Election Final Voting Results". Elections BC. Retrieved 24 May 2017.