Peace River North votes for change: A fresh start with a refreshed party
It’s time for a change in British Columbia, and voters in Peace River North have voted overwhelmingly in favour of a fresh start, with a refreshed party to represent them in the legislature in Victoria.
By electing local farmer and Area B director Jordan Kealy as their new MLA, voters in Peace River North are sending a clear message, that it’s time for government to focus on commonsense governance, and the needs of the people of British Columbia, through the rejuvenated Conservative Party of British Columbia.
Ninety-one years have passed since BC last elected a Conservative government. Two years ago, the party hadn’t had a seat in the legislature for decades. Yet John Rustad managed to bring the party back from what’s been described as the political wilderness to come within a hair’s breadth of forming government.
“There are still votes yet to be counted and I am optimistic that the people in this province are hungry for that change,” BC Conservative Party leader John Rustad told supporters on election night.
While BC awaits recounts and the tallying of mail-in votes, the province is in limbo, with the NDP currently holding 46 seats, the BC Conservatives 45, and the Greens 2 – 47 seats are needed for a majority.
Kealy doesn’t have to wait for a recount or absentee ballots to come in to know that he’s won. In a near-historic showing, he captured 74.4 percent of the vote in Peace River North. Such overwhelming support for a candidate by the electorate hasn’t been seen in the region since Tony Brummet was elected in 1979 and re-elected in 1983 with over 76 percent of the vote each time.
“I was really excited to see the win, and the major support that came forward for this election up here,” he said.
“I think it’s clearly represented that people wanted change across the province. Even in the South Peace Larry ended up winning by a substantial amount and that was great to see.”
“I think it’s very clear what our region wants,” he said.
Kealy is grateful for all the support he received throughout the campaign, especially from his wife as well as his campaign manager, who he says did “an absolutely amazing job, I couldn’t have done this without her.”
On the party’s performance in the rest of the province, Kealy agrees with Rustad: “There’s still a chance that it can swing back, it’s just a matter of those mail-in votes coming in. I’m really hopeful and optimistic that it will turn around, and if not, we’ll deal with the results no matter what.”
Rustad said that if the NDP ends up forming a minority government, the BC Conservatives will continue to fight every day “to bring them down at the very first opportunity and get back to the polls.
“This is too important for the people in this province. It’s too important to give up. It’s too important not to keep fighting,” Rustad said.
He added that throughout the campaign people told him that he and the rest of the BC Conservative candidates were giving them hope.
“We were giving them hope to be able to stay in this province and build a future. To me, that is what has really stuck to my heart, that is what has driven me, and I know that’s what’s driven our candidates. That hope that we can actually do something big and bright and better in this province.”
Kealy echoed his leader’s sentiments: “I think it’s very important to encourage people to stay in our province, and not flee to other areas to try and find a better way of life. I believe we can offer that in BC.”
As for what he’d like to tackle first when he takes his seat in the legislature, Kealy says that healthcare and the cost of living are top priorities.
“It’s trying to alleviate the cost of living for people, across the province,” he said.
“The major one for a lot of areas, and rural areas is our healthcare system. When it comes to, it’s critical that we keep our ERs open. And trying to find any possible option to make that happen is really what we’ve got to push right now.”
The Final Count is scheduled for October 26 to 28. Under the BC Election Act, the final count can’t begin until at least four days after Final Voting Day and candidates can’t be officially declared elected until the final count is finished.
The final count is where the absentee and mail-in ballots are counted that weren’t counted during the initial count. This is also an opportunity for any transcription errors to be corrected and quality assurance checks performed, according the Elections BC website. It estimates that there could be as many as 49,000 ballots yet to be counted.
Recounts are also taking place during the final count in the Juan de Fuca-Malahat and Surrey City Centre electoral districts, as the difference between the top two candidates was less than 100 votes. Candidates or official agents can also request recounts until October 22.