Prince George-Peace River Green Party candidate Hilary Crowley is hoping the fifth time is the charm.
Crowley has built her support in the riding over the past four elections. During her first run in 2000, she received only 2.17 per cent of the popular vote. In 2008, she garnered 10.4 per cent of the popular vote to finish in third place ahead of Liberal candidate Lindsay Gidney.
Crowley, 66, was born and raised in England where she trained as a physiotherapist, before leaving to travel the world.
"I immigrated to Canada in 1970, to travel mostly. I'd just spent a year in South Africa before coming to Canada," Crowley said.
Crowley worked in Montreal and Vancouver, before coming to Prince George.
"I was sent up to Prince George on a six week locum. After two weeks I wrote them and asked if I could stay," she said. "I just loved it here. I loved the outdoor recreation opportunities."
Crowley is an avid outdoor person who enjoys hiking, canoeing, cross-country skiing and gardening. She met her husband here and in 1973 they moved to Summit Lake and built a log house which they still live in today.
Crowley and her husband felled the logs for their home, trimmed them and assembled the house themselves - setting a trend of self reliance which would mark the rest of her life.
She and her husband grow their own fruits and vegetables and hunt and fish for most of their food. They strive to be as self-sufficient as possible.
Her husband had four children from his previous marriage and the couple now have grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
Crowley has retired from her physiotherapy work at UHNBC, but continues to work throughout the region as a pediatric physiotherapist.
In 1994 she spent a year in India working with SAMUHA - an aid agency working to improve the lives of the poorest people in Southern India.
"When I first started there, it was training local people to do physiotherapy. About 72 per cent of our work was with children with polio," she said.
In 1996 she founded the Samuha Overseas Development Association in Prince George to support the work of SAMUHA in India. She continues to spend six weeks a year in India supervising Canadian physiotherapy students as they assist children and adults with disabilities.
In addition to being a long-standing member of the Green Party, she is also a member of the Sea to Sands Conservation Alliance, B.C. Sustainable Energy Association and the Peace Energy Co-op.
