The New Democratic Party's candidate in Prince George-Valemount is campaigning as much against Premier Christy Clark as she is against the riding's longtime Liberal incumbent.
Natalie Fletcher expressed some respect for Shirley Bond when reached Monday but maintained her government has still left the north behind.
As for Clark: "I don't feel like our premier's been working for the residents of B.C., I actually feel like she's working for the top two per cent and it's time we had a premier that cares about everyday British Columbians," Fletcher said Monday.
Bond, who was in McBride to help deal with the fallout from a mill fire that destroyed a major employer in the community, came out in defence of her boss.
"This is a premier whose absolutely undying focus has been on making sure that British Columbia is a leader in this country," Bond said. "And while my competitors might want to sit and talk about all the negative things, they should take a moment to take a look at the track record of this government under the premier's leadership"
On that note, Bond, the riding's MLA for 16 years, highlighted the province's AAA credit rating and balanced operating budget.
"We are the envy of economies across Canada." Bond said.
"That doesn't happen accidentally, it happens with strong leadership and people who work hard."
Bond went on to note that the last time the NDP held power, B.C. was considered a "have-not province" that needed transfer payments from the other provinces.
"It's what drove me to run then and it's what compels me to run again," Bond continued. "I think that is completely unacceptable that British Columbia would be put in that position."
While the city's unemployment rate stood at 7.7 per cent last month, Bond said it was as high as 17 per cent in this region the last time the NDP held power in the 1990s.
Among the issues Fletcher will be campaigning on is improving care for seniors, putting more funding into education and health care and creating sustainable, family-friendly jobs, "that aren't just projects or jobs that kind of come and go."
Bond said her focus will be to continue the "momentum and grow the economy" and creating jobs through diversification.
On that front, Bond stressed tourism as of particular interest to her and pointed the recent government approval of the Valemount Glacier Resort as an example.
"That is an enormous opportunity, not just for Valemount but for McBride and this entire corridor," Bond said.
Fletcher, who is the Hospital Employees Union representative for Northern Health's disability management program, and Bond aren't the only two running in Prince George-Valemount.
Nan Kendy is running for the Green Party after discovering the party had no candidate in her riding during the last election. With that in mind, she decided to run this time to help prevent "voter abandonment" by providing another choice for electors.
"Forty-nine of the electorate did not vote in the last election, that's our biggest block of voting electorate," Kendy said. "That's a lot of people and I don't know how we go forward with a democracy because a democracy only works if people participate."
Now retired, Kendy was a sessional instructor in the school of education at the University of Northern British Columbia.
She and her husband have lived in Prince George for 11 years after moving from Smithers. They lived in downtown Prince George initially but now reside in West Lake where she's involved in the community association.
Among the Greens' key platforms is to encourage innovation and technology rather than traditional industry. Asked if achieving that goal would be more challenging in resource-based northern B.C., Kendy noted Green leader Andrew Weaver stands for more fibre optic in the north to help attract small and medium size businesses to the region.
Kendy said the Greens would also put more emphasis on education and training and said there would be additional spending on K-12 over and above the $330 million committed by the government in the wake of the Supreme Court of Canada ruling.
Kendy noted the Greens are the only party refusing donations from corporations and unions.
