UPDATE: 7:20 p.m.

A packed audience filled the Rotary Centre for the Arts on Thursday night as the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce hosted an all-candidates forum ahead of the upcoming federal election.

Three candidates took part in the moderated discussion: Stephen Fuhr of the Liberal Party, Tracy Gray representing the Conservative Party, and Trevor McAleese from the NDP. Catriona Wright of the Green Party was invited but did not attend.

The two-hour forum, held in the Mary Irwin Theatre, featured pre-submitted questions from the public on key topics including housing-related taxes, support for small businesses, interprovincial trade barriers, climate change, immigration, and public safety in Kelowna.

On the issue of trade between provinces, Gray took aim at the Liberal government's record.

“The Liberal record for interprovincial trade is incredibly dismal over the years. They implemented the Canada Free Trade Agreement with the provinces. However, the agreement has more than 100 pages of exemptions, and so there was a lot of photo ops and a lot of promises, and you have very little action,” Gray said.

Fuhr acknowledged the difficulties in reforming interprovincial trade policies.

“There is a lot of work we can do to foster our domestic supply for domestic demand,” he said.

“We have tried this before, and it's very difficult because all the premiers have to agree. They typically don't. Mark Carney has said a couple times that Canada can give much more than anyone can take away, and this is a great example of that. They have a plan to get that dealt with.”

Public safety and crime were also major talking points throughout the night.

“In Kelowna, we have visible symptoms of poverty. The way we meaningfully address crime is by going after the root,” said McAleese.

“The tough-on-crime approach, that fails to distinguish the dangerous criminals from people who are themselves victims of a system, does not lead to people being rehabilitated.”

Gray pointed to recent federal legislation as part of the problem.

“I just door-knocked a lady that said someone tried to light her fence on fire. This is a direct result of Liberal soft-on-crime laws — Bill C-5 and Bill C-75,” she said. “One of them removed minimum sentences for really serious crimes. The revolving door of the bail system... There is very little in the way of ramifications for serious criminals. Our approach is to remove those laws. This is causing the big problems.”

Fuhr agreed that Kelowna has been particularly affected.

“It’s a problem. It is particularly bad in Kelowna. Mark Carney came out with a plan... more RCMP... timing the loss ends on letting people go through the revolving door of the court system. It will be a statute change and a law change,” he said.

“Several dozen people are responsible for most of the problem, and it has to be dealt with.”

The federal election is scheduled for Monday, April 28.

ORIGINAL: 5 p.m.

The Kelowna Chamber of Commerce is hosting an all-candidates forum for the upcoming federal election for the five declared candidates in the newly-named Kelowna riding Thursday night.

The moderated forum will be held at the Rotary Centre for the Arts, Mary Irwin Theatre from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

It is open to the public. Castanet will be streaming the forum live.

Candidates invited include:

• Stephen Fuhr - Liberal Party Website
• Tracy Gray - Conservative Party Website
• Trevor McAleese - NDP Website
• Catriona Wright - Green Party

The Greater Westside Board of Trade hosted an all-candidates meeting for the Okanagan Lake West—South Kelowna riding Wednesday evening.

The federal election takes place on Monday, April 28.