- Incumbent: Dan Davies (United | 2017)
- Candidates:
- NDP: Ian McMahon
- Conservative: Jordan Kealy
- Independent: Dan Davies
- Results:
- Liberal – 56%
- Conservative – 34%
- NDP – 10%
- Description:
- Peace River North has never just been a simple bedrock riding of conservatism in British Columbia. Rather, since the turn of the century and the collapse of BC’s own Reform Party, the riding has remained a hotbed of right-wing dissension to the BC Liberal juggernaut. Now, with the ending of the 2-decade long awkward marriage of free enterprise, Peace River North is once again a battleground between the right and the further right.
- Carrying the centre-right banner in Peace River North is incumbent United-turned-Independent MLA Dan Davies. A former Fort St. John city councillor, Davies is up against Director of Electoral Area B of the Peace River Regional District Jordan Kealy. As for the New Democrats, the last time the party even cracked double digits was 15 years ago - and they’ve nominated Bruce Ralston’s Ministerial Chief of Staff Ian McMahon as the last-minute sacrificial lamb for a full slate.
- The riding’s right-wing tradition can be attributed to the dominance of the energy sector in oil and gas, which fuels the economies of towns such as Fort St. John and Fort Nelson. The BC Conservatives fare the best in unincorporated communities across Electoral Area B, fuelled by the Mennonite settlements dotting the landscape like Prespatou. Davies will aim to hold onto small towns across the riding, while Kealy will hope to overwhelm him by running up landslides across the Regional District.
- Voters in the riding will be gambling on how best to get back into government and address issues such as the chronic underfunding of Northern Health, ER closures, and the need for upgrades to the Taylor Bridge. Former Reform-turned-Liberal MLA Richard Neufeuld is backing Davies, while incumbent Conservative MP Bob Zimmer is backing Jordan Kealy - notably, Zimmer defeated Davies for the federal nomination in 2010.
- A vote for Kealy will be in hopes of electing an MLA in the caucus of BC’s first northern Premier in almost a century to fix the Peace’s problems, while a vote for Davies will be gambling on a minority government with independents like him holding the balance of power. While projections show Peace River North flipping in the blue tsunami, the riding has shown an independent streak with strong showings in the past from characters like Arthur Hadland - I wouldn’t count out its rebelliousness just yet.
Hugh Chan is a second year student at UBC studying International Relations and Data Science. You can find more coverage of the 2024 BC election as well as politics across East Asia and the Anglosphere at https://x.com/shxnhugh.
