By Cheryl Jahn

Only one leader visits PG: “Not a good look”

Oct 17, 2024 | 3:27 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – On September 26, BC Conservative Leader John Rustad swung into Prince George for a rally. He addressed those in attendance before leaving an hour later. He is the only leader of any of the three mainstream parties to visit any of the Prince George ridings.

“I don’t think it’s a good look. This is the largest centre for two-thirds of the province,” says Political Science Instructor for CNC Chris Beach.

That’s not to say the leaders have not been busy, with daily stops in a number of communities across the south. David Eby did pop up to the Northwest early in the campaign.

In the 2013 campaign, Christy Clark visited the North, and in 2017, both Clark and John Horgan stopped in Prince George.

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“It’s only an hour plane ride,” says Beach. “I don’t think it’s the distance. I think it has been a traditional Socred then BC Liberal and a BC United stronghold. And now it looks like BC Conservatives are just going to replace those BC Liberal seats. So that’s probably a big part of it.”

In 2023, the electoral boundaries were re-drafted, adding six new ridings, the majority of those in the Lower Mainland. There are 10 ridings in Surrey alone and another dozen in Vancouver. Beach says that is likely why the leaders did not venture too far from those ridings.

“Presumably because it looks like it’s going to be a Conservative sweep. Nevertheless, former NDP premier Horgan was here in the last election. With the splits [in leads] as well, with Independent candidates running, it gives the NDP a much greater chance than they’ve had really in decades. It would be nice to see Premier Eby here. And, you know, it kind of sends a message that Prince George doesn’t matter.”

But the fact of the matter is, there are 93 ridings in BC only eight of which are north of Quesnel.