In most of B.C., it’ll be a two-party race between the left and right, since Kevin Falcon torched his right-of-centre BC United party less than a month ago.
But not in Peace River North.
Here, it’ll be a battle of the right versus right. Because BC NDP is ignoring our existence as usual and only parachuted a candidate in three days after the election began. Ian McMahon is chief-of-staff to B.C.’s Forests minister and may be well-qualified, but he’s obviously a last-minute, fill-the-North Peace-slot candidate.
Not that there are a lot of NDP supporters in these parts. But still. A little insulting.
Anyway, it was clear this election was going to be interesting when the BC Conservatives rose from the ashes to challenge the NDP and BC United (formerly the BC Liberals) for the privilege of forming government. Now that Falcon has reset the election to a race between two major parties – which are pretty much tied at the poles – it’s sure to be a nail-biter.
Add to that the 29 or so wildcard independent candidates scattered throughout the province, including more than a dozen former BC United candidates (including five MLA incumbents) and one former NDP MLA, and this election will be without precedent.
What we have in North Peace will be a hair-raiser of a different sort.
BC Conservative candidate Jordan Kealy is a local farmer and newcomer to provincial politics, but an experienced local elected Peace River Regional District director.
BC Liberal-turned-BC United-turned-Independent MLA Dan Davies is a former teacher and Fort St. John city councillor who has held the Peace River North riding since 2017.
Both candidates are popular, self-described conservatives, and they’ll be duking it out for our votes on Oct. 19.
Voters need to choose
When John Rustad took the helm of the BC Conservatives in early 2023 and began re-building the party, his platform emerged slightly right of Kevin Falcon’s freshly rebranded BC United. By the time the election rolled around, both parties were calling for some of the same changes: an end to decriminalization, mandatory care for people with severe addictions in danger to themselves or others, eliminate the carbon tax, and caution on the pace of BC government/First Nation land use agreements.
Even though Falcon folded up his party tent and left his candidates without a political home, Davies is still in favour of many of his former party’s policies. Policies that are largely echoed by Kealy as the BC Conservative Party candidate.
Fixing Northern Health, parental choice in education, housing for seniors, mental health and addictions treatment, ending catch and release, smaller government, working with the natural resource industry to improve the economy, and building a new Peace River Bridge at Taylor.
Regardless of who wins in Peace River North – Kealy or Davies – they’ll both be advocating for these things, and any other issues we voters consider important.
Rustad said his Conservative MLAs must take an oath on day one to put their constituents ahead of the party and that his party will allow MLAs to vote freely on legislation of particular importance to their communities, rather than having to tow the party line on all issues.
As an Independent, Davies will have no party limits on his ability to advocate for constituents.
Each candidate has pledged to do what’s best for the Peace, the region they call home. All that’s left for us voters is to listen to each one and decide who best fits our vision of what we want for the Peace and British Columbia.
But everyone needs to get out and vote.
If you don’t vote, you can’t complain
The voter turnout in the last election was terrible.
Yes, the election was held in the middle of the pandemic and no doubt that limited the turnout, but of the 26,216 registered voters in Peace River North, only 12,184 voted – 46 per cent of those registered to do so. And that turnout wasn’t much better for the 2017 provincial election, where just 56 percent of voters cast a ballot.
In 2017, BC United won by two seats (but lost power when the NDP and BC Greens aligned to form a minority government). In 2020, the NDP swept into office with a majority.
My mother always said if you don’t vote, you can’t complain.
There are a lot of unhappy people in B.C. right now. The current government has made decisions that have worsened our social issues, driven up our taxes, cost us jobs, kept us on waiting lists for treatments, closed our Emergency Rooms . . . the list goes on.
The NDP isn’t going to change a thing if they get re-elected. Only British Columbians can make a change, by getting out and voting.
People want change
I’m betting this election will be a close one in Peace River North. A true edge-of-your-seat contest. With both candidates advocating for nearly identical changes, it could be tough to choose who to vote for.
So, Jordan and Dan, convince us. Show us who the best representative is.
How are you going to advocate for the needs of the people of Peace River North? How can we communicate the needs of our communities to you, so you can bring those concerns to Victoria after October 19?
What are you going to do about the homelessness, the ER closures, the lack of doctors and nurses, the people who have mental health and addiction issues who can’t get the treatment when they want or need it? What are you going to do about the economy in the North? What about education – some of our schools are bursting at the seams, we need more spaces for students.
How much longer will we have to wait for a new Taylor Bridge? It probably has more welds than original material by now, so its days are numbered.
People want to see change, and you two are the ones who’ve signed up to advocate for that change on our behalf.
People of Peace River North will make change happen however they vote. We don’t need to worry about vote-splitting, or voting for government versus opposition. We just need to vote for whoever we want to represent us in Victoria, the candidate who’s going to best represent our interests and make a case for the changes we want to see.
So, c’mon guys, convince us . . . and let the battle of the conservatives begin.
For more news on BC’s North Peace, read Tania Finch‘s independent news source, The Broken Typewriter.
Note: The BC Greens parachuted Brennan Wauters, an out-of-region candidate, into the Peace River North race on Sept. 24.