Running for his fifth term in the House of Commons, the Conservative candidate for Prince George-Peace River-Northern Rockies says the biggest issue in the April 28 federal election is affordability.
Speaking to The Citizen on Tuesday, April 2 at the campaign office he shares with Cariboo-Prince George Conservative candidate Todd Doherty at 490 Quebec St., Zimmer discussed why he thinks the country needs to turf the Liberals after almost a decade in power.
Zimmer, who has represented the area in Parliament since 2011, said many people who had good jobs with good income eight years ago who are now running out of money by the end of the month rather than being able to put away savings.
The Conservatives, he said, have a plan to create a good economy so people can afford groceries and housing, especially the younger generations who have started to feel that the latter is almost unattainable.
“One of the biggest things that we’ve talked about, and (Liberal Leader) Mark Carney’s taking credit for is ‘axe the tax’, getting rid of the carbon tax,” Zimmer said. “It impacts people, especially in the north in such an unfair way.”
He said he spoke with a business owner in Fort Nelson who was spending $2,000 a month on fuel, $700 of which related to the carbon tax.
“That’s been eliminated thanks to Pierre Poilievre’s Conservatives that have really pushed the federal government to do that … we’re going to keep that off, but we’re also going to eliminate the carbon tax on industry as well.”
Since Erin O’Toole was Conservative leader, Zimmer has served as the shadow minister for northern affairs and arctic sovereignty.
Zimmer said he thought that he and his party had effectively raised concerns about Arctic sovereignty and the threat posed by Russia and China in the region in recent years.
With the ongoing trade dispute between Canada and its largest trading partner, the United States, Zimmer said the country needs to be proud of its energy reserves and critical mineral deposits and need to develop them.
Carney has said he would not repeal Bill C-69 from 2019, which allows the federal government to consider climate change issues while contemplating proposed natural resources projects like pipelines. Poilievre has said he would repeal it.
“I believe in a riding like Prince George-Peace River-Northern Rockies, where our bread and butter is producing energy and getting it to market, we need just to get more of it to market,” Zimmer said.
He said LNG Canada, which has a terminal near Kitimat, is ready to deliver its first shipment to a freighter arriving by sea.
“Every single last bit of that gas comes from our riding and so we see how good it can be when we really get our resources to market, we just need to do more of it,” Zimmer said, adding that he’d like to see that pipeline expand.
Compared to when the Tories were last in power, Zimmer said the Liberals haven’t been spending as much on infrastructure in his riding.
When constituents come to his offices in Prince George, Fort St. John and Dawson Creek, he said they’ve most frequently wanted help on immigration and tax issues.
As of the afternoon on April 2, Zimmer was the only candidate officially listed on Elections Canada’s website as registered to run in the riding.
During the election, he said his constituency offices remain open to assist residents. For those who want to visit his campaign office, he said people who want to pick up signs can drop by and knock on the door between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.
The NDP list Cory Longley as their representative in the riding, the Green Party have announced Mary Forbes as their nominee and David Watson is running for the PPC. As of this article's publication, the Liberals had yet to nominate a candidate in the riding.
