A BC Conservative meet and greet was a sold-out event on Saturday night at the Smithers Legion.
Conservative Party of BC leader John Rustad and Stikine candidate Sharon Hartwell had dinner with about 80 people and discussed their party’s policies.
“What we’re seeing right across the province is a lot of grassroots movement for the Conservative Party of British Columbia,” said Rustad. “It’s been really quite something to see how much people are getting engaged and how much people are looking for hope for the future.”
He added the party has a lot of strong pieces that are coming together as they roll out their platform next month.
“We want to make sure that we take advantage of the opportunities we have, both environmentally and economically, to make sure that as a province, we can have a good solid base,” he said.
Rustad said while the door is open to a discussion about a possible coalition with the BC United Party, so far talks have not gone smoothly.
“It’s unfortunate, but we still hold out hope that there might be a way to be able to have a reasonable discussion about how we can work together,” he said. “But at the end of the day, the polling we did before Christmas showed that 56 per cent of the province is considering voting Conservative.
“So, our job right now is to make sure that we have all of the candidates in place, and then that we can present our policy or platform pieces, and hopefully be able to convert those people that are considering voting for us into voters.”
Sharon Hartwell is not afraid to go up against a veteran representative of the area. Stikine NDP MLA Nathan Cullen has held the position since 2022 but prior to that was the federal Member of Parliament for the riding of Skeena-Bulkley Valley from 2004 until 2019.
“I’m not concerned about Nathan, he has his policies and his politics and that’s fine. That’s his voice. That’s his concern. Mine is different,” she said. “So people will have to make that choice. But I’m not going to make this over NDP or whatever. This is about the people in the riding. They’re going to make that choice.”
Hartwell said she is going to focus on a few key areas to campaign on.
“Housing is an issue, and healthcare, and education is an issue,” she said. “But they all fit together. If you don’t have a good strong economy, if you can’t find balance between cultures and people and ideologies, you’re not going to go anywhere.”
B.C.’s next provincial election is slated for Oct. 2024.
READ MORE: Sharon Hartwell is the new Stikine representative for the B.C. Conservatives