Peace River North
# Peace River North

Peace River North is a provincial electoral district for the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, Canada. It was created under the name North Peace River by the Constitution Amendment Act, 1955, which split the old riding of Peace River into northern and southern portions for the 1956 BC election. Its current name has been in use since 1991.

Peace River North has been represented by a variety of British Columbia Political parties over the years. The riding has consistently elected political parties that come from the right side of the political spectrum. For many years the riding was represented by the BC Social Credit Party. Currently, the riding is represented by the centre-right BC Liberal Party. The left of centre New Democratic party has never been successful in electing a candidate to the BC Legislature, despite fielding numerous candidates since the 1950s.

In 2023, a petition to recall the district's MLA, Dan Davies, was approved by Elections BC under the Recall and Initiative Act. However, the petition did not attract the required number of signatures.

## Geography

As of the 2020 provincial election, Peace River North comprises the entire area of the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality and the northern portion of the Peace River Regional District, located in northeastern British Columbia. The electoral district is bordered by Alberta in the east and the Yukon and Northwest Territories to the north. Communities in the electoral district consist of Fort St. John, Fort Nelson, Taylor and Hudson's Hope.

## Member of Legislative Assembly

This riding has elected the following Members of the Legislative Assembly:

## History

| Assembly | Years | Member | Party |
| - | - | - | - |
| North Peace River prior to 1991 |||||
| 35th | 1991–1994 | Richard Neufeld | Social Credit |
| 35th | 1994–1996 | Richard Neufeld | Reform |
| 36th | 1996–1997 | Richard Neufeld | Reform |
| 36th | 1997–2001 | Richard Neufeld | Liberal |
| 37th | 2001–2005 | Richard Neufeld | Liberal |
| 38th | 2005–2009 | Richard Neufeld | Liberal |
| 39th | 2009–2011 | Pat Pimm | Liberal |
| 39th | 2011 | Pat Pimm | Independent |
| 39th | 2011–2013 | Pat Pimm | Liberal |
| 40th | 2013–2016 | Pat Pimm | Liberal |
| 40th | 2016–2017 | Pat Pimm | Independent |
| 41st | 2017–2020 | Dan Davies | Liberal |
| 42nd | 2020–present | Dan Davies | Liberal |

## Election results

vte2020 British Columbia general election :

| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Liberal | Dan Davies | 6,746 | 55.76 | −10.51 | $32,293.82 |
| | Conservative | Trevor Bolin | 4,150 | 34.30 | – | $0.00 |
| | New Democratic | Danielle Monroe | 1,202 | 9.94 | +3.37 | $739.00 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 10,480 | 100.00 | – |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | | |
| Registered voters | Registered voters | Registered voters | |
| Source: Elections BC |||||||

vte2017 British Columbia general election :

| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Liberal | Dan Davies | 9,707 | 66.27 | +7.33 | $53,883 |
| | Independent | Bob Fedderly | 2,785 | 19.01 | – | $31,928 |
| | New Democratic | Robert Dempsey | 962 | 6.57 | -3.27 | $1,739 |
| | Independent | Rob Fraser | 917 | 6.27 | – | $25,354 |
| | Independent | Jeff Richert | 275 | 1.88 | – | $1,064 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 14,646 | 100.00 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 65 | 0.44 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 14,711 | 56.74 |
| Source: Elections BC |||||||

vte2013 British Columbia general election :

| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Liberal | Pat Pimm | 7,905 | 58.94 | +15.79 | $115,737 |
| | Independent | Arthur Austin Hadland | 3,287 | 24.51 | –6.82 | $40,752 |
| | New Democratic | Judy Ann Fox-McGuire | 1,319 | 9.84 | –4.14 | $36,341 |
| | Conservative | Wyeth Sigurdson | 900 | 6.71 | – | $882 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 13,411 | 100.00 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 44 | 0.33 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 13,455 | 51.47 |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | Swing | +11.30 |
| Source: Elections BC |||||||

2009 British Columbia general election :

| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Liberal | Pat Pimm | 3,992 | 43.15 | –16.22 | $55,563 |
| | Independent | Arthur Hadland | 2,899 | 31.33 | – | $17,962 |
| | New Democratic | Jackie Allen | 1,293 | 13.98 | –13.14 | $17,855 |
| | Green | Liz Logan | 1,010 | 10.92 | +4.03 | $26,218 |
| | Refederation | Sue Arntson | 58 | 0.63 | – | $260 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 9,252 | 100.0 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 52 | 0.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 9,304 | 40 |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | Swing | –23.78 |

2005 British Columbia general election :

| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Liberal | Richard Neufeld | 5,498 | 59.37 | –13.85 | $97,647 |
| | New Democratic | Brian Churchill | 2,511 | 27.12 | +15.56 | $21,975 |
| | Green | Clarence G. Apsassin | 638 | 6.89 | – | $200 |
| | Independent | Leonard Joseph Seigo | 613 | 6.62 | – | $3,829 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 9,260 | 100.0 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 61 | 0.66 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 9,321 | 47.4 |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | Swing | –14.70 |

2001 British Columbia general election :

| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Liberal | Richard Neufeld | 6,629 | 73.22 | +44.56 +24.81 | $37,046 |
| | New Democratic | Brian Churchill | 1,047 | 11.56 | –6.48 | $9,796 |
| | Marijuana | Paul Renaud | 810 | 8.95 | – | $3,199 |
| | Unity | Roy Daniel Stange | 568 | 6.27 | – | $867 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 9,054 | 100.0 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 55 | 0.61 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 9,109 | 55.12 |
| | Liberal gain from Reform | Liberal gain from Reform | Swing | Swing | +25.52 |

1996 British Columbia general election :

| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Reform | Richard Neufeld | 5,299 | 48.41 | –6.38 | $23,557 |
| | Liberal | Ben Knutson | 3,137 | 28.66 | +9.17 | $20,370 |
| | New Democratic | Brian Churchill | 1,975 | 18.04 | –4.29 | $27,682 |
| | Social Credit | Dave Bodnar | 240 | 2.19 | –52.60 | $3,978 |
| | Progressive Democrat | Neil Bitterman | 169 | 1.54 | – | $425 |
| | Independent | Brent Hoar | 125 | 1.14 | – | $100 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 10,945 | 100.0 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 43 | 0.39 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 10,988 | 60.49 |
| | Reform gain from Social Credit | Reform gain from Social Credit | Swing | Swing | +19.62 |

1991 British Columbia general election :

| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Expenditures |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Social Credit | Richard Neufeld | 5,758 | 54.79 | –12.42 | $23,852 |
| | New Democratic | A. Jean Leahy | 2,347 | 22.33 | –2.13 | $34,828 |
| | Liberal | Vincent R. Rodriguez | 2,048 | 19.49 | +16.56 | $2,305 |
| | Green | Clarence G. Apsassin | 303 | 2.88 | – | $1,895 |
| | Independent | Dorothy L. Folk | 54 | 0.51 | – | $925 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 10,510 | 100.0 |
| Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | Total rejected ballots | 277 | 2.57 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 10,787 | 70.01 |
| | Social Credit hold | Social Credit hold | Swing | Swing | –5.14 |

## Citations

* ↑ Michael Popove (April 5, 2023). "Bid to recall Peace River North MLA fails". CJDC-TV. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
* ↑ "Peace River North Electoral District" (PDF). Elections BC. Retrieved September 25, 2017.
* ↑ "2020 Provincial General Election Final Voting Results". Retrieved November 9, 2020.
* ↑ "Election Financing Reports". Elections BC. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
* ↑ "Statement of Votes – 41st Provincial General Election – May 9, 2017" (PDF). Elections BC. Retrieved December 7, 2019.
* ↑ "Statement of Votes - 40th Provincial General Election" (PDF). Elections BC. Retrieved May 17, 2017.
