While the Conservatives took the large majority of Western Canada’s ridings, including both of those in Prince George, a former MLA for the region believes changes need to be made if the party hopes to retain power in Ottawa.
Following the 43rd General Election, the Northern Capital saw both of its ridings get retained by their Tory incumbents in Todd Doherty (Cariboo-Prince George) and Bob Zimmer (Prince George-Peace River-Northern Rockies).
Across the western portion of Canada, the Conservatives took 64 of the possible 90 seats from British Columbia over to Saskatchewan. However, the Liberals managed to take 79 of the seats in Ontario — 47 of which came in the region of Toronto and the GTA.
“I think that in order for them to be successful nationally, they actually probably have to give up some vote in northern BC,” Bell told MyPGNow. “They have to figure out how to appeal to people in Toronto. They lost every seat in Toronto. It’s great that they won both of the Prince George seats, but if they’re ever going to get into power, they have to find a way to get some seats in Toronto. That may mean losing some votes in other parts of Canada”
Bell does believe both local candidates are strong, however.
“Clearly both of the local candidates are very strong. Todd Doherty, here in Prince George, is at every event he can get to. He works incredibly hard. Bob Zimmer, really well-liked up in Peace River, doesn’t get to Prince George as much and I understand that it’s more difficult for him.”
That being said, the former MLA admits that he feels the Conservatives platform is much more appealing to northerners, which ultimately impacts their appeal in larger markets.
“The federal Conservative party really appeals their policies to northerners. It’s the stuff that most of us can grab.”
The 43rd General Election and the results had Bell calling it a ‘dominance of division’.
“You’ve got Conservative dominance in Western Canada; you’ve got Bloc dominance in Quebec, and then you’ve got the liberals filling the spaces across the country, and that’s difficult for Canada when you’re not one country and you’re not thinking of the same issues and the same priorities, it makes it very difficult to govern.”
With the hot take, Bell believes this elected government will be a two-year minority at the most, leading to electoral mode again at some point in 2021. At that point, he believes the Liberals, Conservatives, and NDP will better strategize how they’re going to spread their campaigns across the country.