2 B.C. Interior ridings become battlegrounds as Liberals and Conservatives vie for gains [Video]

This is the first in a series of regional features focusing on issues and ridings in B.C. that could prove critical to the outcome of the federal election on April 28. 

Speaking to a pumped-up crowd at a warehouse in B.C.’s Interior, Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre shared a joke.

“The Okanagan is the best part of Alberta,” he quipped, laughing along with his supporters who were packed in to see him speak in the community of Penticton, about an hour’s drive south of Kelowna, on April 5.

Looking at more than 30 years of election results, though, his point is clear: people in B.C.’s Interior tend to vote for right-leaning parties, more in line with their eastern neighbours than their provincial counterparts in Vancouver and on Vancouver Island.

There have been exceptions over the years, including Penticton, which has been represented by the NDP since 2015.

But with polls …