By Spencer Sterritt

Christy Clark says Nanaimo underrepresented for decades by NDP

Apr 18, 2017 | 9:58 AM

NANAIMO — Years of almost entirely NDP representation in the legislature has left Nanaimo without a true champion, according to Premier Christy Clark.

Speaking at a Nanaimo robotics company Monday, the leader of the BC Liberals said the province “can’t afford to go backwards” on the path to a stronger economy. Clark was joined by her three mid-island candidates: Paris Gaudet, Michelle Stilwell and Alana DeLong.

Gaudet faces an uphill battle on the road to May 9. The Nanaimo riding has been held by the BC NDP for 41 of the last 45 years and incumbent Leonard Krog is aiming for a fourth consecutive victory.

Speaking to NanaimoNewsNOW after the campaign rally, Clark said she’s confident their candidates will upset the status quo on Vancouver Island.

“The reason I’m confident we will is because we’re the party that cares about jobs,” she said. “Vancouver Island is starting to see really strong prosperity and I think once people get a taste of prosperity and jobs, they want more. I don’t think anyone wants to squander this prosperity.”

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Many times at the event, she touted the party’s Vancouver Island platform. It aims to address island-specific issues and was called a “crass political admission that they have deliberately ignored Vancouver Island” by Krog.

“Then they’d probably also say we’re really paying attention to Vancouver Island,” Clark said in reply.

“This part of the province has been underrepresented in government for decades now,” she said. “This part of the Island deserves real champions who are going to fight for jobs for this region of the province. In Nanaimo, you deserve as much prosperity as anybody else in the province does.”

On numerous occasions Monday, Clark referenced turning Nanaimo into a tech hub, honing in on the efforts of Gaudet as executive director of mentorship company Innovation Island.

“Tech education for our kids, in broadband internet and supporting the work Paris has been doing here in Nanaimo,” Clark said when asked how the BC Liberals will economically diversify the Island.

Nanaimo’s tech incubator SquareOne will close its doors this summer, following a decision by City Council. When it was launched in 2014, a BC Government news release said the initiative was in collaboration with Innovation Island.

Gaudet said it was a municipal decision and declined to answer further, saying she was at the event as a Liberal candidate, not as Innovation Island’s executive director.

Earlier Monday, Clark made stops in Qualicum Beach and Campbell River, where she touted her government’s economic record on Vancouver Island.

spencer.sterritt@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @spencer_sterrit