TERRACE — With a federal election call expected on Sunday, one race to watch will be in Northwest B.C. in Skeena-Bulkley Valley.
The NDP has held the riding since 2004 but the Conservatives have nominated star candidate Ellis Ross, a former MLA in British Columbia and former chief councillor for the Haisla Nation.
Incumbent Taylor Bachrach, who was first elected in 2019, says he’s proud of the work his party has done to bring things to Canadians like a national dental plan and a pharmacare deal to make drugs cheaper for Canadians. He adds he’s ready to start campaigning.
“Oh absolutely. We’re here in Terrace in my newly opened campaign office and we’re ready to go. We have a huge group of volunteers. I think people are excited. Campaigns are important and elections are important and there’s been none more important than this one in a long, long time.”
As for polls suggesting a loss of support for the NDP, Bachrach says the only poll that matters is the one on election day.
“Skeena has long been a race purely between the Conservatives and the NDP. And so when I talk to people, the Liberals aren’t really on people’s minds. They understand that they only really have two choices here in the northwest. Nationally, the one thing about polls is you wait 10 minutes and they’re going to change.”
As of March 20, political forecasting company 338 Canada has the Conservative Party over 20 percentage points ahead of the NDP with the Liberals trailing further behind at 15 per cent.
338 CanadaCKPG reached out to Ellis Ross for comment but did not hear back in time for publication. Neither the Liberal or Green’s have elected candidates yet.
