Now the hard work really begins.
Elections BC has announced the finalized ballots for the upcoming provincial election on Oct. 24.
B.C. Premier John Horgan called a snap election on Sept. 21, leaving just over a month before voters head to the polls a year early than scheduled, also sending parties into chaos to begin campaigns and select candidates.
Here are the finalized candidates for the Prince George-Valemount riding as well as Prince George-Mackenzie with a total of nine candidates between the two.
PRINCE GEORGE-VALEMOUNT
BC Liberal Party - Shirley Bond
Bond is looking to secure her sixth term as the ridings MLA, after having originally claimed the seat in 2001.
She has strongly criticized Horgan and the BC NDP for calling a snap election amidst a global pandemic, saying sending voters to the polls is not necessary and risking the health of others.
BC NDP Party - Laura Parent
At just 21 years old, Parent is the youngest candidate in the riding, but that doesn't seem to phase her, saying yesterday Bond 'is tired and should spend more time with her family.'
BC Green Party - Mackenzie Kerr
Kerr is no stranger to politics, having run in the 2019 federal election for the Green Party of Canada in the riding of Cariboo-Prince George.
During last year's federal election, Kerr ran against the Conservative Party of Canada candidate Todd Doherty, Liberal Party of Canada's Tracy Calogheros, NDP's Heather Sapergia, People's Party of Canada's Jing Lan Yang and Independent Michael Orr in the Cariboo-Prince George riding.
Doherty would retain his seat while Kerr finished behind Calogheros, Sapergia and Doherty for fourth place with 4,998 votes which equated to 9.1 per cent of the vote.
BC Libertarian Party - Sean Robson
Robson has lived in Prince George for 27 years, drives a logging truck for a locally owned and operated contractor while also being a father.
"You have to start somewhere, and I want to help create prosperity in B.C. for British Columbians now and in the future,"
PRINCE GEORGE-MACKENZIE
BC Liberal Party - Mike Morris
Morris is seeking his third term as the Prince George-Mackenzie MLA, having been elected originally in 2013.
Morris, like Shirley Bond, has also slammed the BC NDP and Horgan for calling a snap election a year earlier than he had promised the BC Green Party when forming the government with Andrew Weaver in 2017.
BC NDP Party - Joan Atkinson
Joan Atkinson is currently the Mayor of Mackenzie.
She comes into the provincial race with an extensive resume that includes 18 years of experience as a B.C. government employee, a member of several local and regional committees
The wife and mother of two says NDP Leader John Horgan called her to specifically wave the orange banner in what is arguably one of the toughest ridings to win if not a candidate for the Liberals.
BC Green Party - Catharine Kendall
Like fellow Green candidate Mackenzie Kerr, Kendall ran in the last federal election in 2019 for the Green Party of Canada in the Prince George-Peace River-Northern Rockies riding.
The 2019 federal results saw Kendall finish third behind winner and incumbent Conservative Party Canada of candidate Bob Zimmer and runner-up Mavis Erickson with the Liberals.
Kendall received 3,448 votes which equated to 6.3 per cent.
BC Libertarian Party - Raymond Rodgers
Rodgers is described as a journeyman electrician in the mining, forestry and oil and sectors who has lived in Salmon Valley for the past 1.5 years.
"I am offering the chance to forge a path towards liberty and opportunity for the people of Prince George-Valemount riding.
“If you don’t normally vote, consider me a breath of fresh air in a stagnant system of governance that has remained polluted for generations."
Christian Heritage Party of BC - Dee Kranz
Kranz appeared on the ballot this morning (Oct. 3), once candidates were finalized, with no official announcement made known of.
A profile will follow.
Provincially, here are the number of candidates running from each party:
- BC Vision - three
- BC NDP - 87
- BC Liberal Party - 87
- Libertarian - 25
- Christian Heritage Party of BC - five
- Communist Party of BC - five
- Conservative Party of BC - 19
- BC Green Party - 74
- Rural BC Party - one
- Wexit BC - two
- Independent - 24
The final list of candidates is now available on our website at https://t.co/oz7RC5W0ti #iVoteBC pic.twitter.com/e6YHvsPF4y
— Elections BC (@ElectionsBC) October 3, 2020
