Blair Cameron is a New Zealand researcher and political candidate. In the , Cameron stood as the

National Party National Party or Nationalist Party may refer to: Active parties * National Party of Australia, commonly known as ''The Nationals'' * Bangladesh: ** Bangladesh Nationalist Party ** Jatiya Party (Ershad) a.k.a. ''National Party (Ershad)'' * Californ ...

candidate in the electorate of . He was narrowly defeated to incumbent MP

Rachel Boyack Rachel Elizabeth Boyack-Mayer is a New Zealand unionist and politician. Since 2020, she has been a Member of Parliament for the Labour Party. Early life and career Boyack was born in Timaru and grew up in Palmerston North, having moved there ...

by 26 votes.

Early life and career

Cameron grew up in rural Canterbury outside Methven, where his mother was a schoolteacher and his father was a barman at the working men's club. Cameron was schooled in Highbank, and at Mount Hutt College. At the age of sixteen, he was awarded a scholarship to study at

Li Po Chun United World College The Li Po Chun United World College of Hong Kong (LPCUWC, ), established in 1992, is an International Baccalaureate boarding school in Wu Kai Sha, Hong Kong. It is the eighth member of the 18-member United World Colleges movement. Li Po Chun ...

. He gained a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

in the United States before working as a senior research specialist at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

. Cameron has worked as a research officer for the

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution funded by 191 member countries, with headquarters in Washington, D.C. It is regarded as the global lender of las ...

’s legal department and as a consultant for the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

. His work for the World Bank involved researching how governments could be made less corrupt. He returned to New Zealand in 2020 for a friend's wedding, and decided to stay. His mother had moved to

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

and so he settled there.

Political career

Cameron was selected by the

to contest the electorate at the . He was 35th on the

party list An electoral list is a grouping of candidates for election, usually found in proportional or mixed electoral systems, but also in some plurality electoral systems. An electoral list can be registered by a political party (a party list) or can c ...

. Preliminary results showed him beating incumbent Labour Party MP

by 54 votes. He identified Nelson infrastructure and health services as areas he would prioritise. He is concerned about the state of

Nelson hospital The Nelson Marlborough District Health Board (Nelson Marlborough DHB or NMDHB) was a district health board with the focus on providing healthcare to the Nelson, Tasman and Marlborough districts of New Zealand. In July 2022, it was merged into t ...

, which he says "might fall down if we have a decent sized earthquake". Cameron and the National Party health spokesperson

Shane Reti Shane Raymond Reti (born 5 June 1963) is a New Zealand politician and a member of the New Zealand House of Representatives, and a Cabinet Minister with the roles of Minister for Pacific Peoples, Minister of Science, Innovation, and Technology, ...

have said rebuilding Nelson hospital is a top priority, although Boyack alleges National Party leader

Christopher Luxon Christopher Mark Luxon (; born 19 July 1970) is a New Zealand politician and former business executive who has served as the 42nd prime minister of New Zealand since 2023 and as leader of the National Party since 2021. He previously served ...

has not committed to it. Following the release of final results on 3 November, Cameron's election night victory was overturned, with Boyack winning by a narrow margin of 29 votes. In response, the National Party sought a judicial recount in the Nelson electorate on 8 November. On 10 November, the Electoral Commission confirmed that Boyack had won Nelson by a margin of 26 votes, three votes fewer than the final vote results.

Personal life

Cameron enjoys kayaking, tramping, rugby and racing.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cameron, Blair Living people Brown University alumni Princeton University alumni Unsuccessful candidates in the 2023 New Zealand general election New Zealand National Party politicians Year of birth missing (living people)