Party leaders bypass Prince George as election campaign nears finish line

“It’s not that long of a flight to any part in British Columbia,” Morris said, pointing to other transportation options available in the province.

“If no party leader is making a visit to these parts, they should be, if they want to then go on and say they effectively represent all parts of the province.”

The lack of access during the campaign has extended to some candidates running locally.

CKPG News has made repeated interview requests for several candidates without securing interviews. They include NDP candidates Ian McMahon in Prince George-Mackenzie and Denice Bardua in Prince George-North Cariboo.

Green candidates Jodie Capling in Prince George-Valemount and Teri Young in Prince George-Mackenzie have also not made themselves available for interviews despite repeated requests to their party campaigns.

There is also the question of where some candidates call home.

McMahon and Young are both seeking to represent Prince George-Mackenzie while living on Vancouver Island. Capling lives in Williams Lake while running in Prince George-Valemount.

Morris said expectations are that right-of-centre candidates will remain strong in northern B.C., while the province-wide outcome is much more uncertain.

“When things are within the margin of error on polls, we just really would be very cautious in making any predictions,” Morris said.

He said a change in government could ultimately be determined in areas such as Surrey, where a larger concentration of voters means close races could potentially be decided by very small margins.

Regardless of who forms government, Morris says the people elected to represent northern B.C. will face the challenge of ensuring the region’s voice is heard in Victoria.

He said northern representatives, whether on the government or opposition benches, “have to punch above their weight class for influence in the legislature” because northern B.C. is outnumbered in seats due to the way the province’s population is distributed.

Morris also stressed that candidates who receive strong support at the ballot box still have a responsibility to those who backed someone else.

Elected representatives, he said, must remember they are in Victoria to represent people who did not vote for them “equally and fairly.”

With election day approaching, whether any provincial party leader makes a late campaign visit to Prince George remains to be seen.

by Greg Fry

Party leaders bypass Prince George as election campaign nears finish line

What's Trending