Health care, political integrity and the environment are among the major issues all Canadians will hear a lot about in the lead up to the June 28 Federal election, but in the Sea to Sky corridor there is also a raft of issues citizens will be asked to consider.
The first major change in this election is that the residents of Pemberton are now in a different riding than Whistler and Squamish.
Population growth meant additional seats for British Columbia in Parliament and forced a change to the electoral boundaries. As a result, Pemberton and D’Arcy are now a somewhat isolated pocket of the Chilliwack-Fraser Canyon riding.
Conservative MP Chuck Strahl is the incumbent MP for most of what is now Chilliwack-Fraser Canyon.
Whistler and Squamish are still in the West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast riding, which is represented by Conservative MP John Reynolds.
The other important point to remember at this stage, is that there is still time for parties to register candidates.
Elections Canada has set a June 7 deadline for candidates to run in this election.
The three major parties have already registered candidates in the local ridings and many of them have been campaigning for several weeks. But there are a number of other parties, such as the Communist Party and the Marijuana Party, that may yet present candidates.
Chambers of commerce in Whistler and Pemberton are attempting to organize all-candidates meetings in the two towns. No dates had been set by press time.
In the West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast riding the major parties attempting to defeat Reynolds include the New Democratic Party, which is represented by Nicholas Simons, the Liberal Party, which is represented by Blair Wilson, and the Green Party, which is represented by Andrea Goldsmith. Squamish builder Marc Bombois, 49, has also decided to run again for the Canadian Action Party.
Wilson is a successful businessman who spent almost a decade in university getting degrees in politics and accounting. He has a campaign office in Squamish. When he was in Whistler recently he outlined security leading up to the Olympics and the youth vote as some of the major issues in this area.
Wilson is expected to be in Whistler again next week.
Simons is a health care worker and a musician who is determined to ensure voters see the NDP as the only "reasonable alternative" to the Liberals and Conservatives.
He blames the efforts of these two parties for the widespread voter apathy in Canada and he is also an ardent supporter of the NDP’s new leader, Jack Layton.
Simons said he too could be campaigning in Whistler next week.
The Green’s candidate, Andrea Goldsmith, is a councillor in Gibsons and is closely aligned with the provincial Green Party and its leader Adrianne Carr.
Goldsmith wants more communities in the West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast riding to start implementing "smart-growth" plans, which she says would ultimately achieve better sustainability.
Bombois, from the Canadian Action Party, joined the party in 1999 and was almost immediately elected to a position power.
Bombois and the CAP are passionate about scrapping the free trade agreements that exist between Canada and the U.S. and for holding the Bank of Canada accountable for funding public services.
Reynolds, who is the incumbent MP in the riding and a resident of the Sunshine Coast, is one of Conservative Leader Stephen Harper’s star candidates.
Reynolds, 62, has been in and out of politics since 1972 and has outlined health care and infrastructure for the Olympics as the major issues facing B.C. in the next four years.
Reynolds said he expected to be campaigning in Squamish and opening a campaign office in Whistler on Monday and Tuesday next week.
In the Chilliwack-Fraser Canyon riding the parties trying to best the Conservatives include the Liberals, who are represented by Bob Besner and the NDP, which will be represented by Rollie Keith.
The Marijuana Party and the Communist Party are also expected to confirm their candidates within the next week.
Besner was in the Canadian Armed Force for 25 years before settling in Chilliwack.
His stint in the military included a post at the Canadian Forces Command and Staff College in Toronto.
In 1997 he became one of the directors of Chilliwack Community Services (CCS) and was soon promoted to the position of director.
Besner said it was important for Pemberton that he pushes for airport funding prior to 2010. He said flood management was also an issue.
The NDP’s candidate in the Chilliwack-Fraser Canyon riding, Rollie Keith, also had a long and distinguished career in the Canadian military.
According to Keith’s Web site he has lived in Chilliwack for 28 years and was a soldier for 32 years, serving in multiple peacekeeping missions.
The site adds that he is the former Chairman of the Fraser Valley Health Region and is against the unilateral military actions of NATO and the U.S.
Incumbent Conservative MP Chuck Strahl, 47, ran a road construction and logging firm before he began his career with the Canadian Alliance party. He is currently the vice-chairman of the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs and was named Critic for Northern Development.
Between January 2000 and April 2001 he served as the Opposition House Leader for the Canadian Alliance.
On a national level Strahl, like many Conservatives, has repeatedly voiced his disdain for the Liberal’s gun-registry and their role in the advertising scandal. Locally, Strahl has been focussing on agricultural issues, such as the avian flu outbreaks and mad cow disease.
Strahl is expected to be in Pemberton on June 12.
The Candidates:
Elections Canada has set a June 7 deadline for nominations so until this date no one will "officially" know the full slate of candidates in any riding.
West Vancouver-Sunshine Coast riding
: includes West Vancouver, Whistler and Squamish.Conservatives: John Reynolds (MP)
Liberals: Blair Wilson
NDP: Nicholas Simons
Green Party: Andrea Goldsmith
Canadian Action Party: Marc Bombois
Chilliwack-Fraser Canyon riding
: includes Pemberton, Lillooet and part of the Fraser Valley.Conservatives: Chuck Strahl (MP)
Liberals: Bob Besner
NDP: Rollie Keith
Marijuana Party: Norm Siefken
