Things fall apart (for the B.C. Conservatives)
It's Time To Play It's Time To Win
This is a local newsletter but today we’re starting nationally.
Specifically, the fact that Mark Carney — who is taking over from Justin Trudeau as Liberal party leader and, presumably, Prime Minister for at least a short spell before going to election, somehow chose the 2009 pop-rap-rock song “Time To Win” by Toronto’s Down With Webster as his walk-off music and I have so many questions:
Here’s the full song
Between this an Team Canada blasting “Burn It To The Ground” by Nickelback followed by their medal win in Boston, we’re truly in a golden era of bro-rock party anthems taking the Canadian stage.
Bringing us to the actual point of this newsletter, former Liberal candidate/organizer for Prince George Tracy Calogheros has posted that the local riding association is — or at least was — not really running, so I don’t know what that means if we go to the polls in the near-term. Something to watch, I suppose.
Things fall apart (for the B.C. Conservatives)
Provincially, the B.C. Conservatives are eroding, having lost three members this past Friday. I won’t go into the recap in this newsletter, you can read what happened here and here. What you need to know is one MLA was kicked out of the caucus and two more quit the party in solidarity. After that, several remaining Conservative MLAs posted their committment to the party and leader John Rustad while others did not.
Among those who did is Prince George-Mackenzie MLA Kiel Giddens:
Among those who did not are Prince George-Valemount and Prince George-Cariboo North MLAs Rosalyn Bird and Sheldon Clare. I don’t want to read too much into this because compared to Gieddens, neither are all that communicative online. On X, Clare hasn’t posted since December while on Facebook he seems to be focused on party business. As other people were quitting the party, he was posting about the work his party had done to keep Atlantic Power operating in Williams Lake. He also seems fairly tight with Rustad so it looks like he’s probably sticking around.
Bird, on the other hand, is one to watch. Her most recent personal post was in support of Dallas Brodie, the MLA whose ouster led to this whole splintering. She’s also among those who have been dubbed “The Freedom Caucus” following an attempt to get another one of the party’s MLAs to apologize for comments which idk you can read about it here if you want. Point being, the people who watch the mechanisms of the party and Victoria have Bird on the list of MLAs most likely to leave the Conservatives for this new coalition of former Conservatives that’s forming, so stay tuned.
News roundup:
PG snowboard cross racer Meryeta O'Dine posts back-to-back sixth-place World Cup results.
PG Community Foundation launches two funds commemorating former Spruce Kings Captain Chad Staley.
Council to consider manufactured home park on Twinberry Drive for second time.
Unemployment rate in Prince George rises to 7.6% in February.
Grocery Angels continue to help Prince George seniors in need.
Northern Queer Connection Society gets funding to fill gaps in Northern LGBT history.
Prince George Public Library supports local food security with launch of 2025 Seed Library.
Erratic weather conditions lead to potholes in Prince George.
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Send feedback by emailing northerncapitalnews@gmail.com. Find me online at akurjata.ca.
Americans who despise Trump want to spend vacation dollars in Canada right now. Please address this as it concerns BC in particular. And for me personally, as I plan my summer vacation in Vancouver and beyond this July. Happy to drive north or inland, not the cruise ship type of guy, but keen on trains or roads. Thank you, a Californian, not to mistaken for a MAGA.