Blair Cameron

Blair Cameron, 35, proudly calls Nelson home and is contesting the Nelson electorate for a second time as National’s candidate after narrowly missing out on becoming Nelson’s MP by just 26 votes in 2023.

Raised in the rural South Island community of Highbank, Blair earned scholarships to study at the United World College in Hong Kong and Brown University in the United States before building a career with globally renowned institutions, including Princeton University, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund. Throughout his career, Blair has worked in dozens of countries across Asia, Africa, Europe, and Latin America. He returned to New Zealand in 2020 and continued this work remotely from his home in Nelson.

Although he had never previously been involved in politics, Blair ran a strong local campaign in Nelson in 2023 and came within 26 votes of unseating the incumbent MP in the closest election race the Nelson electorate had ever seen. Following the 2023 election, Blair resumed consulting for the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank from Nelson. He has focused much of his recent work on India and spent several weeks there throughout 2024 and 2025. Blair also enjoys teaching and continues to deliver online courses and in-person workshops through Stanford University’s Leadership Academy for Development.

Outside work and politics, Blair enjoys social sport, tramping, and learning languages. He speaks both Spanish and Portuguese and is currently learning Te Reo Māori through classes at the Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology. On weekends, you can often find Blair at Tāhunanui Beach supporting the Nelson Giants, Tasman Mako, and other local sports teams, or exploring Nelson Tasman’s three National Parks.

Blair is a dedicated member of the Whakatū Rotary Club and strongly supports many community organisations in Nelson, including Big Brothers Big Sisters and Nelson Tasman Hospice. In 2025, Blair competed in Dancing for a Cause, performing the paso doble with Hazel Black in front of thousands of people at the Trafalgar Centre. As part of his fundraising campaign, he publicly committed to shaving his head if donations for Hospice exceeded $100,000. After the Nelson community rallied behind the cause and donated more than $100,000, Blair followed through on his promise, resulting in a dramatically different look for the 2026 election campaign.

“Nelson needs an MP who will get stuck in, get things done, and deliver real outcomes for our community. I’m focused on progressing the Nelson Hospital redevelopment, improving regional infrastructure including the new bypass to ease congestion in Nelson and Richmond, and growing our local economy to create high paying jobs and new and exciting opportunities for young people to build their future here.”