09 05 08	Globe and Mail 204.9.162.70
Campbell takes aim at NDP in north Liberal Leader touts plans for container terminal in bid to help former Prince Rupert mayor's quest for a seat IAN BAILEY May 7, 2009 at 12:09 PM EDT PRINCE RUPERT ? Traffic may be down at this city's high-profile container terminal, but Liberal Leader Gordon Campbell is upbeat on the prospects of the complex, especially as a reason for re-electing Liberals. During his first campaign visit to the North Coast riding now held by the NDP, Mr. Campbell said there was no reason to hold off funnelling money into an expansion of the Fairview Container Terminal, which opened in 2007. And he suggested that only a Liberal government would do so - a reason for sending Herb Pond, the former two-term mayor representing the Liberals, to Victoria on May 12. ?I think we're pretty confident we're going to get it developed if a B.C. Liberal government is elected on May 12,? he said, suggesting the NDP has had little to say about the project. The riding's NDP incumbent, Gary Coons, was visiting a remote area of the riding yesterday so was unavailable for comment. As voting day looms, Mr. Campbell plunged into northwestern B.C. for a two-day swing of campaigning aimed at prying some seats from the NDP and holding others for the Liberals. Yesterday, he was in two ridings - North Coast and Skeena - that the NDP holds, and ended the day at a rally to bolster Liberal efforts to hold Stikine. Today, Mr. Campbell will try to help the Liberals take Cariboo North and Cariboo South away from the NDP then attend a rally to help his three Prince-George-area candidates hold onto their seats. In Prince Rupert, the terminal was a link for Mr. Campbell's three events held yesterday over about two hours He took a boat tour of the port to get a seaside perspective on the complex. Standing in the shadows of the impossibly massive blue cranes of the operation, he delivered remarks about the operation for media cameras. And he talked about Mr. Pond's commitment to the project at a luncheon for supporters, describing him as a driving force in making it happen. The settings changed, but the theme was consistent. ?Prince Rupert is going to be at the forefront of [trade] for Canada and British Columbia and I want you to know this. With the B.C. Liberal government, we're going to be there with Prince Rupert,? he said. ?If we do the work we need to do to expand this facility, it will be there when the demand comes back,? he said. The port is aiming to begin construction of the terminal expansion in late 2010, about a year later than the initial time frame for the project. Mr. Campbell did not flinch at news from the Prince Rupert Port Authority that container traffic fell by 48 per cent from the last three months of 2008 to the first three months of 2009. Key economies in Asia are in a slowdown, said the Liberal Leader, but they will keep driving the global economy in future.
	09 04 26	J.M. 154.20.248.110
There have been four BC Provincial Election Cycles in the North Coast Provincial Riding starting with the 1991 Provincial Elections and the NDP has been victorious in three of them. In the most recent October 14, 2008 Federal Elections, the NDP in this area [Skeena-Bulkley Valley] was victorious, continuing to maintain and increase their support. Skeena-Bulkley Valley is one of two federal ridings out of the nine located in the North and Interior of B.C. that went NDP. Here are the results of the October 14, 2008 Election as it pertains to the polls in Queen Charlotte Islands, the Coastal Communities and Prince Rupert: Green Party [6.925%], NDP [57.287%], Canadian Action Party [0.271%], Liberal Party [5.932%], Conservative Party [26.954%], Christian Heritage Party [1.432%], Rejected Ballots [0.413%]. I submit that Gary Coons will retain the Provincial Riding of North Coast for the NDP.
	09 01 26	WL 69.176.179.137
Herb Pond (former mayor of Prince Rupert) will be running against Gary Coons as a Liberal. Pond is unpopular in the areas outside of Prince Rupert, and Prince Rupert is in no way a strong hold for the Liberals.
	09 01 25	Rudi 99.236.105.16
I don't see how the NDP can lose this riding. It was a squeaker of a Liberal win in 2001 after Dan Miller held it for years, and flipped back to the NDP in 2005. Although the NDP member seems weak at best, history is on his side.