Amelia Boultbee

Amelia Boultbee
Member of the Legislative Assembly
for Penticton-Summerland
In office
October 19, 2024 – October 24, 2026
Preceded byDan Ashton
Succeeded byTracy St. Claire
Personal details
PartyNew Democratic (since 2026)
Other political
affiliations
BC Conservative (until 2025)
Independent (2025–2026)

Amelia Boultbee is a Canadian politician who served as a member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia (MLA) for the electoral district of Penticton-Summerland from 2024 to 2026. Initially elected as a member of the Conservative Party, she left the party in 2025 where she sat as an independent until crossing the floor to the New Democratic Party in 2026. Prior to provincial politics, she served as a Penticton city councillor.

Early life and career

Born and raised in Penticton, Boultbee is a fourth-generation Pentictonite. She has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of British Columbia, and went on to earn a Juris Doctor degree from Peter A. Allard School of Law also at the University of British Columbia.

Boultbee has worked as a civil litigator in Downtown Vancouver specializing in personal injury law, real estate law, construction law, insurance law, and family law. She later transitioned to work for Veterans Affairs Canada, representing Canadian Armed Forces and Royal Canadian Mounted Police members on disability and pension issues.

Political career

In 2022, Boultbee ran for Penticton City Council, winning a seat and receiving the most votes of any candidate.

On February 26, 2024, Boultbee was nominated as the Conservative Party of British Columbia's candidate for Penticton-Summerland in the 2024 provincial election. She went on to win a seat in the Legislative Assembly of BC, defeating BC NDP candidate Tina Lee by 317 votes. She is the first woman MLA to represent the riding and served in the Official Opposition's shadow cabinet as the critic for Children and Family Development. Her policy priorities included a new healthcare centre for Summerland, tackling the opioid crisis, and opposing the approved gravel pit in Summerland.

In March 2025, Boultbee advocated for accountability in the Ministry of Children and Family Development after Chantelle Williams, an 18-year-old Indigenous child under the care of the ministry, was found dead in Port Alberni outside of her group home on January 28, 2025. She has called for the release of a coroner's inquest. She has had public disagreements with MLA Dallas Brodie over LGBTQ rights.

On October 20, 2025, Boultbee resigned from the BC Conservative caucus to sit as an independent shortly after fellow party MLA Elenore Sturko was removed from caucus for opposing the leadership of John Rustad. She called on John Rustad to resign as leader of the BC Conservatives.

On July 3, 2026, Boultbee crossed the floor to join the governing BC NDP caucus after serving as an independent for more than eight months. She cited a shift toward "Trump-style populism" under new BC Conservative leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay as the reason she would not be returning to its caucus. David Eby said Boultbee had demonstrated a commitment to representing her constituents and welcomed her to the government caucus. Her floor crossing gave the party a working majority in the Legislative Assembly.

On September 28, 2026, she announced she was withdrawing as a candidate in the 2026 election, and would not seek re-election. In Penticton-Summerland, Tina Lee was again chosen as the NDP candidate and Tracy St Claire was chosen as the new Conservative candidate.

Electoral history

2024 British Columbia general election: Penticton-Summerland
Party Candidate Votes%±%Expenditures
ConservativeAmelia Boultbee11,61541.37–$56,697.20
New DemocraticTina Lee11,29840.24+1.3$30,293.77
UnaffiliatedTracy St. Claire2,7209.69–$16,157.90
GreenBradley Bartsch1,4725.24-6.4$2,072.42
IndependentRoger Harrington8272.95–$0.00
IndependentAnna Paddon1440.51–$617.10
Total valid votes/expense limit 28,07699.90–$71,700.08
Total rejected ballots 290.10–
Turnout 28,10561.49–
Registered voters 45,707
Conservative notional gain from BC United Swing N/A
Source: Elections BC
  1. ↑ Swing cannot be calculated as BC United did not run a candidate in this riding.

2022 Penticton City Council election

The results for Penticton City Council were as follows:

Top 6 candidates elected

Council candidate Vote %
Amelia Boultbee † 5,618 55.54
James Miller (X) † 4,488 44.37
Ryan Graham † 4,366 43.16
Helena Konanz † 3,730 36.88
Campbell Watt (X) † 3,653 36.11
Isaac Gilbert † 3,309 32.71
Andrew Jakubeit 3,289 32.52
Frank Regehr (X) 3,020 29.86
Katie O'Kell 2,928 28.95
Nick Kruger 2,921 28.88
Shannon Stewart 2,734 27.03
Wayne Llewellyn 2,452 24.24
Katie Robinson (X) 2,350 23.23
Lindsey Hall 2,013 19.90
Larry Schwartzenberger 1,699 16.80
Davinder Sandhu 1,390 13.74
Turnout 10,115 33.40

References

  1. ↑ "BC election 2024 results: Penticton-Summerland". Global News. Retrieved October 20, 2024.
  2. ↑ Lacey, Keith (October 19, 2024). "Boultbee wins Penticton-Summerland". Penticton Herald. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
  3. ↑ Powrie, Chelsea (October 21, 2024). "Pentictonites may be back at the polls in a few months when MLA-elect Amelia Boultbee resigns council seat - Penticton News". Castanet. Retrieved October 23, 2024.
  4. 1 2 3 "Amelia Boultbee at Conservative Party of BC". Conservative Party of BC. Retrieved April 8, 2025.
  5. ↑ "Meet Penticton candidate Amelia Boultbee". Penticton Western News. June 9, 2021. Retrieved April 8, 2025.
  6. ↑ "Election results officially declared". City of Penticton. October 18, 2022. Retrieved October 23, 2025.
  7. ↑ Fries, Joe (February 26, 2024). "Boultbee running for BC Conservatives". Penticton Herald. Retrieved October 23, 2025.
  8. ↑ Amelia Boultbee (February 26, 2024). "Amelia Boultbee Nominated in Penticton-Summerland". Conservative Party of BC. Retrieved April 8, 2025.
  9. 1 2 Lacey, Keith (October 19, 2024). "Boultbee wins Penticton-Summerland". Penticton Herald. Retrieved April 8, 2025.
  10. ↑ "Statement of Votes – 43rd Provincial General Election – October 19, 2024" (PDF). Elections BC. April 17, 2025. Retrieved October 23, 2025.
  11. ↑ Lacey, Keith (February 21, 2025). "Boultbee makes her debut in the Legislature". Penticton Herald. Retrieved April 8, 2025.
  12. ↑ Dickson, Courtney; Larsen, Karin; Hamilton, Wawmeesh (April 2, 2025). "Family of Indigenous youth who died in care calls on province for answers, accountability". CBC. Retrieved October 23, 2025.
  13. ↑ Amelia Boultbee (March 26, 2025). "Justice for Chantelle Williams: Conservatives issue an urgent call for accountability in the death of an indigenous youth in care". Conservative Party of BC. Retrieved April 8, 2025.
  14. ↑ St. Denis, Jen (October 27, 2025). "Amelia Boultbee: John Rustad 'Yelled at Me Until I Cried'". The Tyee. Retrieved July 5, 2026.
  15. ↑ Lazenby, Alec (October 20, 2025). "Fifth B.C. Conservative MLA leaves party as John Rustad struggles to maintain hold over caucus". Vancouver Sun. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
  16. ↑ "Conservative MLA Quits, Citing 'Unravelling' Rustad". The Tyee. Retrieved October 20, 2025.
  17. ↑ Jul 3, Chelsea Powrie-; Story: 622981, 2026 / 11:00 am |. "Penticton-Summerland MLA Amelia Boultbee joins the BC NDP". www.castanet.net. Retrieved July 3, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  18. ↑ Zoltan, Alex (July 3, 2026). "Breaking: Penticton-Summerland MLA Amelia Boultbee crosses floor to join BC NDP caucus". Western Standard. Retrieved July 3, 2026.
  19. ↑ Depner, Wolfgang (September 29, 2026). "BC Conservative turned NDP Amelia Boultbee won't run for re-election". Global News. Retrieved October 4, 2026.
  20. ↑ Staff, Herald (September 28, 2026). "Boultbee withdraws from Penticton-Summerland NDP candidacy". Penticton Herald. Retrieved September 28, 2026.
  21. ↑ "Tina Lee steps up for Penticton-Summerland with the BC NDP". BC NDP. July 28, 2024. Retrieved October 4, 2026.
  22. ↑ "B.C. Conservatives name Tracy St. Claire as candidate for Penticton-Summerland". Penticton Herald. September 29, 2026. Retrieved October 4, 2026.
  23. ↑ "Statement of Votes – 43rd Provincial General Election – October 19, 2024" (PDF). Elections BC. April 17, 2025. Retrieved July 4, 2025.
  24. ↑ "2024 Provincial General Election Financing Reports Available". Elections BC. Retrieved July 23, 2025.