The NDP has been on a major push in British Columbia, including in the two Prince George ridings, trying to position itself as a community-friendly alternative to the Conservatives.
However, the Conservatives are more than will to put their record on the line.
The NDP launched a northern strategy Wednesday, packaging some of its already-announced policies with a tag-line that declared they would make life more affordable for northern families.
The message from the three northern B.C. ridings was that they would lower household energy and renovation costs, increase the northern residents tax deduction and introduce measures to protect northern jobs.
On Thursday, the NDP released its B.C. strategy, saying they would ensure that B.C. would not have to repay $1.6 billion if the province rejects in vote in June on the harmonized sales tax. The NDP also promised bans on oil tankers and raw log exports.
The NDP also tried to boost their campaigns with a visit by leader Jack Layton to Prince George. None of the other leaders have visited the city.
The Conservatives have taken a more muted approach, highlighting some of their economic policies, and their support for health care and seniors.
The Conservatives have dismissed the NDP charge they have neglected northern British Columbians' needs.
"I don't think they've done their homework, and I think they are badly misinformed and possibly [listening] to the spin doctors from downtown Vancouver or downtown Toronto that are feeding them these lines," said Cariboo-Prince George Conservative incumbent Dick Harris.
Harris, who has been an MP for nearly two decades, said no party has done more for the region than the Conservatives. He pointed to community adjustment funding that has helped forest workers, providing training and pension bridging, as well as beefed up Employment Insurance benefits, during the economic recession.
He estimated the Conservatives had provided $3 billion to $4 billion in program and infrastructure spending since 2006 for the Cariboo-Prince George riding.
That includes $122 million in green-energy funding for Canfor Pulp and another $41.5 million for West Fraser's pulp mill in Quesnel.
But Cariboo-Prince George NDP candidate Jon Van Barneveld, a UNBC student contended the region provides a great deal of the country's natural resources, but doesn't see the benefits returned to the communities.
He pointed to the promise of money dedicated to the pine beetle epidemic -- $1 billion over 10 years -- that has not materialized.
"A lot of people are fed up. So much of northern life is affordability," said Van Barneveld.
"The HST was thrown at us, and we don't believe there should be HST on home heating," he said. "In the middle of January, that's not fair to northerners."
The NDP finished second to the Conservatives in both Cariboo-Prince George and the Prince George-Peace River, but by a large margin. Conservative parties -- who have held both seats for decades, including under the Reform and Canadian Alliance -- often win more than 50 per cent of the vote.
In 2008, the NDP won 26 per cent in Cariboo-Prince George, and 18 per cent in Prince George-Peace River.
Although the NDP have been coming on strong in the country, and are making this big push in British Columbia, political scientist Norman Ruff does not believe it will translate into wins in the Prince George ridings.
"If the NDP are hoping to gain any seats, it will be in the Lower Mainland," observed Ruff, a professor emeritus at the University of Victoria.
