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Rana Nelson (BC Greens) Answers 3 KCFN Questions - Columbia River-Revelstoke Provincial Election, October 2026
Provincial elections matter.
From household affordability and housing to Indigenous rights, community services, agriculture and local food systems (to name just a few)... politics and public policy have real consequences in our everyday lives.
With British Columbia heading to the provincial polls this October — Advance Voting runs from Friday, October 16 through Wednesday, October 21, with Final Voting Day on Saturday, October 24 — the Kimberley Cranbrook Food Network recently narrowed our many possible interconnected food-system questions down to three (3) that we sent to candidates running for MLA in the two ridings covering our communities: Columbia River–Revelstoke (which includes Kimberley) and Kootenay–Rockies (which includes Cranbrook).
We're sharing their responses on our website/socials as they come back to us to help residents (which includes ourselves) hear directly from the people seeking to represent our communities on important matters such as the three questions we asked below.
Rana Nelson (BC Greens) is running for MLA of Columbia River-Revelstoke (which Kimberley is a part of). You can learn more about their candidacy through their Facebook and Instagram (or official party page) — but first, please see below for Rana's responses to our three KCFN questions, which we have shared as submitted.
Q1. Household food insecurity is primarily an income and affordability issue. What provincial policies would you support to reduce food insecurity and improve access to nutritious and culturally appropriate food for people in our region?
In our rural Columbia River-Revelstoke riding, we feel this income and affordability issue
deeply. While we have many small agricultural areas, it’s still much cheaper to buy
carrots from California than kale from Kimberley. The BC Greens’ policy brief on food
sovereignty and food security explains that we will prioritize building a food system that
puts local and regional economies first rather than the current system that seems to
prioritize absentee investors and agribusiness conglomerates. The Agricultural Land
Reserve protects the five percent of British Columbia with the greatest agricultural
capacity. It doesn’t, however, place limits on the ownership of that land -- making British
Columbia an outlier, risking the health of our agricultural system, and limiting
opportunities for new and younger farmers.
By protecting agricultural land in our communities, expanding local food production, and
investing in local food systems and processing infrastructure, we will strengthen our
regional food networks and reduce dependence on distant sources. This will create a
more resilient and self-sufficient food system for all British Columbians. This plan also
reduces the financialisation of farmland -- something that contributed to the average
value of cultivated farmland rising 11.3% in 2024, increasing pressure on new farmers
and making farming less affordable (https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2025/fac-fcc/CC212-4-2024-eng.pdf).
The BC Greens will:
Protect BC’s farms and food security by restricting non-resident and investment firm ownership of farmland. Specifically, the BC Greens will limit ownership of Agricultural Land Reserve Land parcels greater than 4 hectares only to citizens and permanent residents of British Columbia, unless they demonstrate intent to become residents and establish themselves within four years.
Make food sovereignty part of the Agricultural Land Commission's mandate, to protect and prioritize agricultural use, and provide additional funding and staffing to fulfill that mandate.
Improve public data on who owns BC’s farmland, how ownership is changing and how agricultural land is being used, so governments, researchers and the public can better understand emerging trends and develop effective policy.
Empower municipalities to be able to tax productive farmland that is being left idle.
Develop a public interest test for significant farmland purchases to ensure that they support the long-term interests of BC’s agricultural land base, food production, and farming communities.
Incentivise regenerative farming practices that build healthier soils, improve water management, reduce energy use and sequester carbon.
Streamline the approvals process for water storage dugouts on farms to improve drought resilience and water availability.
Commit the Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship to work with farmers to ensure the protection of food crops during drought periods.
Facilitate public institutional procurement of local food, ensuring schools, hospitals and other institutions prioritise locally produced food.
Support the development of systems that address food insecurity in First Nations communities that honour First Nations knowledge, values, harvesting areas and practices.
Create and/or support school food program[s] that provides opportunities for schools, community organisations and farmers to promote sustainable practices and educate children on healthy eating habits.
Protect and expand BC’s reserve of farmland by establishing a publicly owned agricultural land bank for lease by new farmers.
Q2. Indigenous food sovereignty, access to traditional foods and Indigenous-led food systems are part of a strong regional food system. What actions would you support in these areas, and how does your position on B.C.'s Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (DRIPA) shape your approach?
I received these questions just after I got back from a season-end potluck at
Revelstoke’s Food Commons, a community garden that I worked with as it was getting
off the ground (literally!). It’s a space to grow food and share knowledge in ways that
honour the land and the people who use it, engaging with Indigenous leaders and
knowledge keepers, local growers, and the community at large to work towards
reconciliation and enhancing food security (Food Commons — Revelstoke Local Food
As in all policy and people areas, we can accomplish more when we collaborate –
across cultures, regions, governments, and organizations. With Food Commons, I
worked with VIDEA (VIDEA), an international development organization, to engage
youth in the project. Regarding (and regardless of the government’s position on) DRIPA,
we must engage with Indigenous people and organizations in all aspects of what we do – e.g., food security, education, housing, resource management – so I would continue to
work to ensure Indigenous voices are heard in local-food and all systems.
Q3. Community food-security organizations and local food-system initiatives are often asked to address long-term challenges through short-term project funding. What role should the Province play in providing sustained support for local food production, food-security infrastructure, organizations and regional collaboration?
Short-term project funding is an issue for many non-profits. During my time on
Revelstoke’s Social Development Committee, in collaboration with Tamarack Institute,
we were aiming for backbone funding for non-profits, which is what most, if not all, need
to ensure they can consistently work to meet long-term challenges.
BC Greens leader Emily Lowan states: “As we face a trade war from the South, and
more frequent climate disasters, our food security is becoming increasingly vulnerable.
That’s why localized production, control and consumption is so important—but B.C.’s
farmland has been put up for sale. Under the current Agricultural Land Reserve system,
there is no restriction of foreign or corporate ownership, and no requirement to farm
productive land—leading to the rapid accumulation of B.C.’s farmland by American
billionaires.”
The BC NDP have failed to act on this issue for years, with the BC Greens introducing
legislation to ban foreign ownership of farmland in 2017; something that the NDP have
consistently ignored.
“Selling off our farmland to foreign interests and megacorporations not only drives out
British Columbian farmers,” continues Lowan, “but turns our food supply into a tax
scheme for the ultra-wealthy. That’s why the BC Greens will restrict foreign and
corporate farmland ownership, fund an Agricultural Public Land Bank to connect
farmers with affordable farmland, and give local governments the power to tax unused
farmland.”
Many thanks to Rana Nelson (BC Greens) for taking the time to respond to our questions — and cheers to all of the candidates who have put their names forward to serve our communities in these important roles (and thank YOU for stopping by to read & add some more context to your voting decisions/discussions).
You can learn more about Rana's campaign through their Facebook and Instagram (or official party page) — and you can read responses from other candidates (that have responded so far) via our Provincial Election 2026 page (which we will continue to update as more responses come back).
For official provincial voting information please visit Elections BC.
And don't forget that the Kimberley Chamber of Commerce is hosting a Provincial Election Forum on Thursday, October 15th at McKim Middle School (5pm - Meet & Greet // 5:30pm - Forum Start).
And then remember, for the upcoming Provincial Election, whether you live in Kimberley or Cranbrook or somewhere else… these are the dates for voting in the upcoming Provincial Election:
Advance Voting: Friday, October 16 to Wednesday, October 21
Final Voting Day: Saturday, October 24
Please Note: Kimberley Cranbrook Food Network (KCFN) sent the same three questions to candidates running for MLA in Columbia River–Revelstoke and Kootenay–Rockies that we were able to find contact information for on Sunday, October 4 (6 candidates in total between both ridings). Candidate responses are published as submitted, with only minor formatting changes if necessary for readability. KCFN does not endorse individual candidates — we endorse informed & engaged voters (and we hope people find these Q&As as engaging and informative as we do).
And don't forget to check out our Municipal Election coverage too!
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