B.C. Votes 2017: Prince George-Valemount riding profile

In advance of the 2017 B.C. election, we'll be profiling all 87 electoraldistricts in the province. Here is Prince George-Valemount, one of eight ridings in Northern B.C., and one of only two where the boundaries have changed.

Summary: A geographically diverse riding, it contains the southwestern half of Prince George, the areas south of the city up to Hixon, and the region to the east of the city, including McBride, Valemount and Dunster.

In redistribution, the riding lost the Hart Highlands neighbourhood north of the Nechako Riverbut added the southern half of West Bowl and the suburban neighbourhoods of Charella Gardens and Starlane.

Politics: Prince George has long been thought of as a bellwether regionby virtue of the fact that the party in government has held at least one riding in the city since 1949.

But the B.C. Liberals have increased their support in Prince George in recent elections and in 2013 the party's 57 per cent vote share was ninth highest in B.C.

Candidates: Shirley Bond seeks a fifth term in Prince George-Valemount. A former Prince George school trustee, Bond has been in cabinet duringthe B.C. Liberals'entire 16 years in power, and has been minister of jobs, tourism and skills training since 2013.

The NDP candidate is Natalie Fletcher, a processing technician at University Hospital and union representative with the Hospital Employee Union.

The Green Party candidate is Nan Kendy, a retired sessional instructor at the University of Northern B.C.

Where does the NDP do best?The historic part of Prince George, north of Ferry Avenue andeastof South Ospika Boulevard, is its most reliable area election after election, though the Liberals still drew even here in 2013.

What about the B.C. Liberals?The Liberals sweep up in College Heights in the far south of Prince George, winning around 65 per cent of the vote the last two elections. It also does fairly well in the parts of the riding outside the city.