Coralee Oakes
Canadian politician (born 1972)
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Coralee Ella Oakes (born 1972) is a Canadian politician, who was elected to the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in the 2013 provincial election.[1] She represented the electoral district of Cariboo North as a member of BC United. Oakes served in Cabinet as Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development, and then Minister of Small Business and Red Tape Reduction, and Minister Responsible for the Liquor Distribution Branch.[2]
Coralee Oakes | |
|---|---|
Oakes in 2016 | |
| Member of the British Columbia Legislative Assembly for Cariboo North | |
| In office May 14, 2013 – September 21, 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Bob Simpson |
| Succeeded by | Sheldon Clare |
| Minister of Community, Sport and Cultural Development of British Columbia | |
| In office June 7, 2013 – July 30, 2015 | |
| Premier | Christy Clark |
| Preceded by | Bill Bennett |
| Succeeded by | Peter Fassbender |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1972 (age 53–54) |
| Party | BC United |
| Profession | Politician |
In Opposition, she has served as the Official Opposition critic for Small Business; for Advanced Education, Skills Training & Sport; and for Post Secondary Education. She was elected by her colleagues in 2022 to chair the then BC Liberal Party caucus.
Oakes is a former two-term Quesnel city councillor and executive director of the Quesnel and District Chamber of Commerce since 1999. As a result of her community work, in 2007 Oakes was appointed by the province to the Small Business Roundtable to represent the rural voice of small business. This work led her to be appointed to the Minister's Council on Tourism in 2009. Oakes is the past president of the British Columbia Chamber Executives and has served as a director on the BC Chamber of Commerce, Canadian Chamber of Commerce Executives, Cariboo Chilcotin Tourism Association and numerous local not-for-profit organizations.[3] On September 12, 2024, Oakes announced her intention to run as an independent in Prince George-North Cariboo for the 2024 British Columbia General Election.[4] She was unseated by Sheldon Clare from the Conservative Party of British Columbia.[5]
Electoral record
| 2024 British Columbia general election: Prince George-North Cariboo | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Conservative | Sheldon Clare | 11,430 | 56.82 | +49.6 | $27,477.42 | |||
| Independent | Coralee Oakes | 4,394 | 21.84 | -30.7 | $7,335.00 | |||
| New Democratic | Denice Bardua | 3,426 | 17.03 | -14.3 | $4,917.96 | |||
| Green | Randy Thompson | 866 | 4.31 | -4.0 | $1,650.44 | |||
| Total valid votes/expense limit | 20,116 | 99.91 | – | $71,700.08 | ||||
| Total rejected ballots | 18 | 0.09 | – | |||||
| Turnout | 20,134 | 59.97 | – | |||||
| Registered voters | 33,572 | |||||||
| Conservative notional gain from BC United | Swing | +40.1[n 1] | ||||||
| Source: Elections BC[6][7] | ||||||||
- Swing against BC United incumbent Coralee Oakes, standing for re-election as an independent candidate.
| 2020 British Columbia general election: Cariboo North | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Coralee Oakes | 5,367 | 48.42 | −2.63 | $16,017.08 | |||
| New Democratic | Scott Elliott | 3,809 | 34.36 | −1.21 | $890.10 | |||
| Conservative | Kyle Townsend | 1,201 | 10.84 | +4.84 | $571.20 | |||
| Green | Douglas Gook | 707 | 6.38 | −1.00 | $237.95 | |||
| Total valid votes | 11,084 | 100.00 | – | |||||
| Total rejected ballots | ||||||||
| Turnout | ||||||||
| Registered voters | ||||||||
| Source: Elections BC[8][9] | ||||||||
| 2017 British Columbia general election: Cariboo North | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures | |||
| Liberal | Coralee Oakes | 6,359 | 51.05 | +9.64 | $56,018 | |||
| New Democratic | Scott Elliott | 4,430 | 35.57 | +14.14 | $55,108 | |||
| Green | Richard Edward Jaques | 919 | 7.38 | – | $285 | |||
| Conservative | Tony Goulet | 747 | 6.00 | – | $816 | |||
| Total valid votes | 12,455 | 100.00 | ||||||
| Total rejected ballots | 58 | 0.46 | ||||||
| Turnout | 12,513 | 60.94 | ||||||
| Source: Elections BC[10] | ||||||||
| 2013 British Columbia general election: Cariboo North | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |||||
| Liberal | Coralee Oakes | 5,867 | 41.41 | |||||
| Independent | Bob Simpson | 5,264 | 37.16 | |||||
| New Democratic | Duncan Barnett | 3,036 | 21.43 | |||||
| Total valid votes | 14,167 | 100.00 | ||||||
| Total rejected ballots | 81 | 0.57 | ||||||
| Turnout | 14,248 | 59.77 | ||||||
| Source: Elections BC[11] | ||||||||