It's election day in British Columbia!

KelownaNow has made an effort to interview each and every Central Okanagan candidate ahead of the provincial election.

If you haven't already cast your ballot in advance voting, these interviews give you a chance to learn more about the candidates in your riding before you head to the polls today.

We think it's important that you, the voter, have a chance to see and hear how the candidates approach the key issues and how they respond in an interview situation.

We succeeded in getting almost all of them to agree to an on-camera chat.

You will find interviews with candidates here that you won't find anywhere else.

Notably absent from our list of interviews is the BC Conservative candidate in Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream, Tara Armstrong, who did not make herself available.

Kelowna Centre

Loyal Wooldridge - BC NDP

Wooldridge is an entrepreneur who has been elected twice to Kelowna City Council.

He lists housing, healthcare and affordability as the key issues for his campaign.

While the NDP is generally considered a left-of-centre party, Wooldridge describes himself as a centrist.

Interestingly, he has shown a willingness to take on some of his own party's policies during his campaign, most notably on the issue of short-term rentals.

"David Eby is very open to hearing from individual MLAs around what's working in their community and what's not," he said.

Click below for his candidate interview.

Kristina Loewen - Conservative Party of BC

Loewen's background includes the real estate business and health care.

She works as a real estate agent.

On the healthcare side, Loewen began in the role of care-aide.

Later she became a doula, supporting families during childbirth.

Housing affordability tops her list of issues in the campaign.

Loewen is not doing a lot of interviews or public forums, so one of your best opportunities to see her address the issues is this interview with KelownaNow which was recorded back in March.

Bryce Tippe - BC Green Party

Tippe knows politics.

He recently completed a degree in political science and now he's putting that to use as a candidate for the Greens.

He's currently employed in the Cannabis industry.

Tippe would like to see institutional reform in the province and speaks a lot about proportional representation in our election process.

A lot of Kelowna voters vote Green every year, but we never elect a Green MLA.

Do you think those votes should be better reflected in the BC Legislature?

Check out Bryce Tippe's interview below.

Dr. Michael Humer - Independent candidate

As a thoracic surgeon, Dr. Humer rose to the position of Chief of Surgery at Kelowna General Hospital.

Now his first effort as a political candidate has turned into a very complicated operation.

He was a vetted candidate with the BC United Party until leader Kevin Falcon withdrew the party from the race.

Humer was among the former BCUP candidates who were left expecting a call from the BC Conservatives.

But the call never came.

Now he's campaigning from the middle between what he describes as "One party on one end and one party on the other end."

Check out his interview below.

Kelowna Mission

Gavin Dew - Conservative Party of BC

Dew is an entrepreneur with experience in public policy and governance.

Dew ran for the leadership of the BC United Party in 2022.

Born in BC, he and his wife now live in Kelowna where they operate a small business.

It's an indoor playground called "Play Area."

Unlike the other Conservative candidates in the Central Okanagan, Dew has made himself available for public forums and media interviews.

You can check out our candidate interview with him below.

Harpreet Badohal - BC NDP

When he's not campaigning, Badohal works as a registered health and safety professional with WorkSafeBC.

He's no stranger to hard work.

Before that, he worked at jobs such as farm labour and pizza delivery.

Harpreet and his wife Jade have made Kelowna their home since 2016.

The NDP does not have a track record of success in the Kelowna Mission area, but he's not deterred.

"I'm going to win," he says.

Check out Badohal's interview with KelownaNow below.

Ashley Ramsay - Independent candidate

Ramsay is one of the vetted candidates who were cast adrift after BC United Leader Kevin Falcon pulled the party out of the race in late August.

She describes herself as a fiscally conservative, socially compassionate center-right conservative.

Ramsay vows to fight for small business if elected, and lists affordability and housing as key issues in the campaign.

After the failure of BC United, she was interested in moving ahead as a Conservative.

But like the other candidates in the region would discover, the call never came.

She now views John Rustad's Conservatives as a home for far-right fringe ideologies.

Here's her interview with KelownaNow.

Billy Young - BC Green Party

According to the BC Greens Website, Young is deeply committed to social, environmental, and economic justice.

His bio says he has a deep appreciation for the vital role small businesses play in strengthening our communities.

Young identifies housing, access to healthcare, the cost of living, and wildfire prevention as key issues in the campaign.

There is no evidence that he actually lives in the Kelowna area and he has not responded to our requests for an interview.

Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream

Kevin Kraft - Independent candidate

Kevin Kraft describes himself as 'a dedicated local from the heart of the Central Okanagan.'

Unlike the other independent candidates running in the region, Kraft is not among the former BC United Candidates.

But he's leaning in on what he sees as the year of the independent.

Kraft is the vice chair of the Regional District of Central Okanagan.

He's a former university athlete and keen outdoorsman.

He says a lack of political affiliation frees him up to represent the constituents of the riding without the constraints of party politics.

Watch his interview with KelownaNow below.

Anna Warwick Sears - BC NDP

Anna Warwick Sears has spent her career working to protect the Okanagan’s lakes and rivers.

As the Executive Director of the Okanagan Basin Water Board, her work is aimed at ensuring people in the Okanagan Valley have access to safe, clean, fresh water.

Lately, that role also includes protecting lakes and rivers from the impacts of climate change.

She argues that we need a government willing to invest in our future, rather than one that will undermine our services with reckless cuts.

This is Warwick Sears's first foray into politics, and she believes she can win.

Her interview with KelownaNow is below.

Andrew Rose - BC Green Party

According to the BC Green Party website, Rose is a software engineer with a specialization in artificial intelligence.

His bio states that he relishes every chance he gets to apply his technical mindset to complex political problems.

Rose is a hired staff member with the BC Green Party where he works as a field organizer and manages the Young BC Greens.

There is no evidence that he lives in the Kelowna-Lake Country-Coldstream riding, and he has not responded to our requests for an interview.

Tara Armstrong - Conservative Party of BC

You will not find an interview with Armstrong here.

She is not responding to invitations for media interviews and she also failed to reply to the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce invitation to take part in a public forum with the other candidates.

On the campaign website, she's described as a "private sector trailblazer."

Armstrong boasts a track record as a pioneer of small business ventures.

According to her campaign page, she spearheaded the transformation of a small, single-province franchise business into a thriving nationwide success story.

West Kelowna-Peachland

Macklin McCall - Conservative Party of BC

As a former RCMP member, McCall has had plenty of first-hand experience with what can go wrong in our society.

McCall was born in the Okanagan and has been a West Kelowna resident for 15 years.

He lists among his top priorities the 'preserving children's innocence and upholding parental rights', among the issues that motivate him.

McCall vows to work to strengthen the economy, create job opportunities, and ensure accessible housing for all.

He has been absent from public forums, and interviews with him are scarce, but KelownaNow spent a few minutes with him back in February.

Check it out below.

Stephen Johnston - Independent candidate

After six years as a West Kelowna city councillor, Johnson entered the campaign as a BC United Candidate.

With the fall of the BCUP, Johnston expected to be offered the chance run for the Conservatives, but like the others in the region, he never got the call.

He's a journeyman carpenter, and entrepreneur, and works as a professional in the construction industry.

Johnston is now embracing his independent status.

He says it brings him the opportunity to bring forward a balanced approach without the pressures of party politics.

Here's KelownaNow's interview with Johnston below.

Krystal Smith - BC NDP

Smith is a long-time progressive organizer and public servant.

Born in Kelowna and raised by a single mother, Smith became politically active as a student.

She was a student leader at UBC Okanagan and advocated for student access to needed services.

Her efforts can be credited for the universal bus pass that all students at UBCO enjoy today.

Smith was notably absent at an all-candidates forum hosted by the Greater Westside Board of Trade, but KelownaNow was able to schedule an interview with her.