2005 Candidates (as received from Elections B.C.):
- Robin Austin, New Democratic Party of B.C.
- Roger Harris, BC Liberal Party
- Patrick Hayes, Green Party of BC
- Daniel Stelmacker, BC Unity Party
Districts Profile:
This riding runs slightly inland from B.C.'s north-central coast, stretching from the Kitlope River headwaters in the south to the community of Gitanyow in the north and penetrated by Douglas Channel and Gardner Canal. Terrace is the main population and administrative centre; other towns include Kitimat and Kemano. Agriculture, logging and aluminum smelting are important to the riding. Retail and manufacturing are the two dominant employers. The average family income here is $67,360 – slightly above the provincial average – but the unemployment rate is tied as B.C.'s fourth highest, at 14.1 per cent. Immigrants account for 15 per cent of Skeena's population, while aboriginal people make up 17.8 per cent – B.C.'s fifth highest such proportion. Another 10 per cent of residents are of Portuguese origin, while eight per cent are German.
Political History:
The incumbent in Skeena is Liberal Roger Harris, the minister of state for forestry operations. For the past three decades, every MLA in this riding has won their seat the hard way: by ousting the previous officeholder. Harris did so in 2001, unseating incumbent Helmut Giesbrecht of the NDP (and collecting three times as many votes). Giesbrecht had won in 1996 with a 635-vote defeat of Liberal Rick Wozney, but he'd first gained office in 1991 by defeating David Parker of the Social Credit Party by 831 votes. Parker had served since 1986, in which year he overthrew New Democrat Frank Howard, who in turn had held the seat since his 368-vote defeat of Socred MLA Cyril Shelford in 1979. Shelford, in turn, had ousted one-term officeholder Hartley Dent in 1975.
In 2001, the voter turnout in Skeena was 72.1 per cent – just above the provincial average.
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