In the wake of the federal election, we have a new MP for Skeena Bulkley Valley - which marks a big change for the region.
Conservative Candidate Ellis Ross has been elected, having accrued about 47.2 percent of the vote and over 21 thousand votes.
Previous MP Taylor Bachrach of the NDP has since publicly stated that he gave Ross a call to congratulate him on his win and welcome him to his new position.
Bachrach came second in the race, with 39.3 percent of the vote and over 17 thousand votes.
This is the first time someone other than an NDP member won this riding since it was established in its current form back in 2004.
Ross is also the first ever Indigenous person to win the riding and with Tamara Davidson becoming the North Coast MLA last year, it’s also the first time ever that the North Coast has had both an Indigenous MLA and as well as an Indigenous MP.
Ross says he’s ready to be the opposition.
“Well, it’s not new to me. I’ve been in opposition in the B.C. Legislature for seven years as an MLA. So I understand what the role is. But it still doesn’t change my priorities in terms of what I wanted to see get done, for B.C. and Canada, and especially for our riding.”
We asked Ross what his main goals would be this term.
“There’s a lot of goals. You know, affordability is a big issue. The drugs is a crisis. And in BC it’s been declared since 2016. I’m not a fan of the drug experiment that took place here in the last three years with the BC Liberals. Or not the BC Liberals, but the Liberals and NDP. I’m not a fan of that.
I’m not a fan of the idea of not really doing something about the criminal element. The catch and release system has got to end. I mean, for the safety of our community, safety of our members. But really, it really comes down to drugs. But overall, you know, 15 years ago, I decided that, to the best of my ability, I was not going to allow, what happened to me as a young man happened to anybody else.
I, I struggled as a young man trying to find a job. And if you can’t get a job, you can’t get a credit rating, you can’t get a credit, or you can’t get a mortgage, so you can’t buy a house. So when I, when I found out that, I was not unique in Canada as an Aboriginal growing up on reserve, and in fact, many Aboriginal faces all across Canada, I decided I was going to commit myself to make sure that everybody has an opportunity to a good life and a good life, meaning independence, and being able to basically build their own lives and I still commit to that.”
Ross said one of the most prominent points that came up when he was door-knocking was affordability.
“Most of what I heard in the doors was affordability, affordability and drugs. Basically. And we know that the young people can’t afford a house. Right. And the jobs are just aren’t there, especially in our smaller communities. Forestry has gone down, because a lack of supply. Mining in the northern areas haven’t gotten their permits. So lot these communities, up on the highway that are that depend on those resource jobs are actually suffering.
And they were hoping for a government that could actually get the economy going. You know, if, given the assets that we have here in Northwest, we could have contributed a lot to country’s diversification of trade. Globally.”
We asked Ross if he thought he’d still be able to get much done in the region, with a Liberal Minority Government.
“I’m not sure. No, not with Bill C-69. There was talk of this this government, this Liberal government actually didn’t really support pipelines, for example, inside Canada, and we didn’t really see a plan except for counter tariffs, and some type of negotiation with the United States. And we didn’t hear, really hear, about diversification.”
Bill C-69, also known as the Impact Assessment Act (IAA), allows federal regulators to consider the potential environmental and social impacts of various resource and infrastructure projects. It was enacted in 2019 and replaced the former Canadian Environmental Assessment Act (CEAA 2012). It’s been referred to as a “thorn in the energy sector’s side” by the Financial Post.
Ross maintains Canada can’t continue to be so dependent on the States.
“Either way, Canada. You can’t be so dependent on United States or else this is going to happen again. I mean, 90% of, 98% of, all oil gets piped down to the United States, either for their own domestic purposes or for export. Our natural gas in BC. A lot, and a lot of people don’t know it, but all our natural gas basically goes across our borders to United States and elsewhere.
It doesn’t go overseas to Asia. Not yet. We’ll have to wait and see what Canada says about phase two of LNG Canada. What the government does. Because the B.C. government actually just loosened their restrictions on LNG Canada phase two just a few weeks ago. They basically said that, okay, LNG Canada phase two doesn’t have to be net zero. It has to be net zero ready. So they’re basically putting it into the federal government’s ball court now to see what happens there. So we’re still not out of the woods in terms of exporting LNG to Asia and different parts of the world.”
Ross says he’s looking forward to heading to Ottawa. The house will sit for the first time on May 26th, 2025.