2005 Candidates (as received from Elections B.C.):
- Blair Lekstrom, BC Liberal Party
- Pat Shaw, New Democratic Party of B.C.
Districts Profile:
This large northeastern riding abuts the Alberta border, is largely bordered on the north by the Peace River, and stretches west as far as Williston Lake. Communities include Dawson Creek, Tumbler Ridge, Chetwynd and Quintette. Major employers include the vast agricultural area in the Dawson Creek area, coal deposits at Bull-Moose and Quintette, and the Grizzly Valley natural gas area and pipeline. The average family income of $60,251 is slightly below the B.C. norm, while unemployment, at 10.4 per cent, is somewhat high. Only 7 per cent of residents are immigrants, while First Nations people account for 14 per cent – one of the highest such proportions in the province.
Political History:
The incumbent in Peace River South is Liberal Blair Lekstrom, who in 2001 defeated runner-up Grant Mitton of the Social Credit Party by a margin of nearly 4-to-1. Lekstrom was preceded by Jack Weisgerber. Weisgerber was first elected in 1986 with the Socreds, who had already been dominating this riding for two decades. In 1991 Weisgerber fended off New Democrat challenger Anne Matheson by 773 votes. He quit the Socreds for the Reform Party in 1994 and the next year was elected their provincial leader. Under that banner in 1996 he collected a mere 123 votes more than the NDP's Patrick Michiel. By 1997 he'd left the Reform to sit as an independent.
In 2001, the voter turnout in Peace River South was 62.4 per cent – the third lowest in the province.
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