---
title: "Kaikōura electorate: 2026 election result, MP and local data | NZ Business Alliance"
description: "At the 2023 election, Stuart Smith (National) won Kaikōura by 11,412 votes. Kaikōura's boundaries changed in 2025, and the 2026 result appears here once it is called. Kaikōura is a general electorate covering 21,654 km², with about 75,261 residents (Stats NZ estimate, June 2025). It is mostly in the Marlborough and Canterbury regions."
source: https://alliance.org.nz/election-2026/electorates/kaikoura/
---

[Electorates](https://alliance.org.nz/election-2026/electorates/)

# Kaikōura electorate

At the 2023 election, Stuart Smith (National) won Kaikōura by 11,412 votes. Kaikōura's boundaries changed in 2025, and the 2026 result appears here once it is called. Kaikōura is a general electorate covering 21,654 km², with about 75,261 residents (Stats NZ estimate, June 2025). It is mostly in the Marlborough and Canterbury regions.

General electorate · Election 2026NZ Business Alliance

Land area

21,654 km²

2025 boundaries

Residents

75,261

Stats NZ estimate, June 2025

2023 turnout

82.4%

42,253 votes from 51,277 enrolled

## 2026 result

Results appear here from 7pm on election night, Saturday 7 November 2026.

[See Kaikōura on the electorate map →](https://alliance.org.nz/election-2026/map/#kaik-ura) · [Nationwide results →](https://alliance.org.nz/election-2026/results/)

## 2023 result

**Stuart Smith** (National) won by 11,412 votes, ahead of Emma Dewhirst (Labour). This is the result for the electorate of the same name on the previous boundaries, which changed in 2025.

| Party | 2023 party vote |
| --- | --- |
| __National | 41.2% |
| __Labour | 20.8% |
| __ACT | 14.1% |
| __NZ First | 9.1% |
| __Greens | 7.8% |
| __Opportunity | 1.7% |
| __Te Pāti Māori | 0.5% |

## Local jobs

Filled jobs in the regions Kaikōura mostly sits in, from Stats NZ’s monthly employment indicators. The figures are for the whole region, not just this electorate.

| Region | Filled jobs | vs a year earlier | Month |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Marlborough | 26,954 | +0.2% | September 2026 |
| Canterbury | 322,594 | +2.1% | September 2026 |

[National jobs and wages dashboard →](https://alliance.org.nz/data/jobs-and-wages/)

## Questions people ask
Who is the MP for Kaikōura?

At the 2023 election, Stuart Smith (National) won Kaikōura by 11,412 votes. Kaikōura's boundaries changed in 2025, and the 2026 result appears here once it is called.
How big is the Kaikōura electorate?

Kaikōura is a general electorate covering 21,654 km², with about 75,261 residents (Stats NZ estimate, June 2025). It is mostly in the Marlborough and Canterbury regions.
What was the turnout in Kaikōura?

In 2023, 42,253 of 51,277 enrolled voters in the electorate of that name voted, a turnout of 82.4%.

Sources: boundaries and land area from the Representation Commission’s 2025 review via Stats NZ; residents from Stats NZ’s population grid at 30 June 2025; 2023 results and turnout from the Electoral Commission; 2026 results from the Electoral Commission’s preliminary and official results; filled jobs from Stats NZ Monthly Employment Indicators (CC BY 4.0). Purely informational and not endorsed by any party.