2005 Candidates (as received from Elections B.C.):
- Brian Churchill, New Democratic Party of B.C.
- Richard Neufeld, BC Liberal Party
- Leonard Joseph Seigo, Independent
Districts Profile:
This vast riding occupies the northeastern quadrant of the province, running from Fort St. John in the south to the Yukon border in the north. Alberta forms the eastern boundary. Oil and gas exploration has been responsible for most of the growth here, with Fort Nelson as the transportation and resource base and Fort St. John as the main population centre and agricultural base. Game hunting, tourism and agriculture are also present. The average family income is $69,246 – above the B.C. average – while unemployment is a fairly average 8.2 per cent. Seven per cent of people here are immigrants, while the aboriginal population – 11.2 per cent – is B.C.'s 10th-highest.
Political History:
The incumbent in Peace River North is Liberal Richard Neufeld, the minister of energy and mines, who in 2001 beat runner-up Brian Churchill of the NDP by a margin of more than 6-to-1. Neufeld has been a man of many parties. In 1991 he won office on the Socred ticket, defeating a New Democrat by nearly 3,500 votes. Then, in 1994, he left the Social Credit caucus to sit as a Reform Party member; two years later, running under that banner, he won re-election, beating Liberal Ben Knutson by 2,162 votes. In 1997, Neufeld quit the Reform and turned Liberal. Prior to Neufeld, the Socreds had dominated here with MLAs Ed Smith (1966-79) and Tony Brummet (1979-91).
In 2001, voter turnout in Peace River North was 55.1 per cent – by far the lowest in the province.
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