A New Day for the North: PG Chamber says Premier-Designate Lorne Doerkson recentres political landscape

British Columbia’s political landscape has fundamentally fractured and reformed, bringing an end to the nine-year reign of the NDP and shifting the province’s true seat of influence firmly into the Interior.

Following a decisive provincial election that handed the B.C. Conservatives a strong majority government, a clear message is echoing through the region: Northern B.C. and the Interior will no longer be an afterthought in Victoria.

The rise of the new Conservative government marks a historic milestone for communities like Prince George and Williams Lake.

Highlighting the strategic importance of this geographic shift, Prince George Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Neil Godbout spoke with Vista Radio.

“An incoming Premier who can find Prince George on the map, that’s a pretty great thing. Lorne Doerkson used to live and work in Prince George. Of course, he’s been in Williams Lake and, and the Cariboo for, for many, many years. I think that kind of representation is important and on the flip side, we can’t discount the fact the Conservatives won big in Surrey, Burnaby, the Fraser Valley and even Vancouver itself.”

In addition, the political math behind the victory underscores a massive gamble that failed for former Premier and NDP leader David Eby.

“When you’re going to call a snap election, be, be very careful of what you wish for because if you go to the voters and say, ‘I, I need a strong mandate,’ voters gave a strong mandate, just not to David Eby and his party.” said Godbout.

“Their majority actually wasn’t fragile at all. They had a majority of three, which is certainly strong enough. There was a potential to call by-elections in Joan Phillip’s old riding, which they most certainly would have won. A by-election that they would have had in for Mission-Abbotsford, that would have been certainly more contentious, but definitely, maybe it would have been a bit of more of a coin flip there.”

Lastly, the regional alignment is expected to usher in a swift policy pivot in Victoria. Moving away from urban-centric programs, the Conservative government is expected to champion a business-first environment- an encouraging sign for economic growth.

“So from the provincial election standpoint, voting a party that is a far more, frankly, a free enterprise party, what is kind of traditionally more a business-friendly party is, is certainly optimistic from, from my standpoint.” added Godbout.

The blue wave that was seen on Saturday was more about the voting public wanting change than anything the NDP fell short on during its nine-year tenure.

“These things come in cycles. Voters decide that, okay, we’ve had enough of this certain perspective, and now we’d like something else. And so, to me, it’s less about what one party did right or wrong and more about the fact that, it does seem, whether it’s in B.C. or any other jurisdiction—federally, voters at some point go, you know what, we, we need some changes, and we need some big changes.”