A former People's Party of Canada candidate is now running in the provincial election.
Sean Taylor, is a former registered nurse who served 20 years in the Canadian Armed Forces and ran in the 2019 and 2021 federal elections for the South Okanagan - West Kootenay riding.
On Sept. 20, Taylor announced that he would be entering the provincial election in the Boundary - Similkameen riding as an Independent candidate.
In the last federal election, Taylor collected 4,866 votes, and in 2019 he received 1,638, or 7.3 per cent and 2.4 per cent of the vote respectively.
In his announcement, Taylor stated that he is running on reducing personal taxes, increasing affordable housing, reforming healthcare, and cutting red tape for small business owners.
"It's become clear to British Columbians that party politics have failed them,” Taylor said. “Our needs are pretty simple. People need an affordable place to live, reasonable taxes, reliable healthcare, and the chance to earn a decent living."
Decrying party politics, Taylor is currently set to face off against incumbent B.C. NDP MLA Roly Russell and B.C. Conservative candidate Donegal Wilson.
Ron Hovanes, the former mayor of Oliver and the B.C. United candidate, is no longer registered to run according to Elections BC.
Taylor is currently awaiting the results of a Discipline Committee hearing into his conduct as a registered nurse. The hearing wrapped up in December of 2023 but the results have not been published yet.
The B.C. College of Nurses and Midwives launched an investigation into six incidents of public remarks ranging from comparing pandemic health regulations to internment camps to comments expressed to Global News where he claimed Indigenous hospital patients make claims of racism "when they do not get their way."
The college notes that the allegations are not proven until a full discipline hearing has taken place and a written decision is rendered by the Discipline Committee.
