Happy New Year!
Time for Bill’s Amazing Predictions for 2024. Predictions you can bet the farm on … as long as you were looking to get out of the agriculture business.
Prediction No. 1 – Mayor Simon Yu will take the City of Prince George’s credit card and freeze it in a block of ice from the Nechako … oops … there is no ice on the Nechako.
Prediction No. 2 – There will be a provincial election in the fall. OK, I know it’s already scheduled but I can still predict it. Who will win? Come on now, I don’t have a crystal ball.
Give the United Party and the upstart Conservative Party credit for getting candidates in place now, giving them a year or more to unofficially campaign. I don’t see the NDP getting candidates in place yet, which could hurt them.
However, I don’t see a seismic shift in B.C. politics just yet. The election will be won or lost in the Lower Mainland ,,, again. Here in Prince George I don’t see anything changing. Shirley Bond, already one of the longest serving MLAs in B.C. history, will be looking to extend that run, and Prince George voters are likely fine with that.
Cariboo North Coralee Oakes will likely benefit from a portion of Prince George being added to the riding she has held since 2013. Newcomer Kiel Giddens in Prince George-Mackenzie might be in a tighter race, however I don’t think voters are too keen on a change. Giddens will be challenged by Conservative Rachael Weber. While Weber is hoping to follow in the footsteps of Bond and former Mayor Lyn Hall who used the school board as a springboard to higher-level politics, Weber hasn’t used her time as board chair to endear herslef to voters like Bond and Hall did.
Conservative leader John Rustad stands a good chance of retaining his seat, but I don’t think the party will do much more than that.
All this depends on who the NDP puts forward in these ridings and we’ll likely have to wait until September to see who that is. OK, maybe it won’t depend on who they put forward.
Prediction No. 3 – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will go for a ‘walk in the snow.’ Hold on, there is no snow … darn.
Prediction No. 4 – Opposition leader Pierre Poilievre will blame the lack of snow on the federal carbon tax and promise to “ax the job-killing Trudeau snow tax.”
Prediction No. 5 – Political wannabe’s everywhere who are looking to upset a current elected official will promise to get rid of the carbon tax. Oops … sorry, that one’s already true.
Prediction No. 6 – NDP leader Jagmeet Singh will pop up next month and see his shadow, or not see his shadow, which means another 18 months without a federal election.
Prediction No. 7 – Alberta Premier Danielle Smith will blame Ottawa for the lack of snow and demand all snow that falls in the rest of Canada be trucked to Alberta ski hills. After all, snow that falls in eastern Canada blows in from Alberta so they own it and want it back.
Prediction No. 8 – Premier David Eby will stand head and shoulders above the competition … that is, of course, unless federal housing Minister Sean Fraser enters provincial politics.
Prediction No. 9 – It won’t be a boring year.