Tag Archives: Campbell River

Politics

MP Aaron Gunn’s April 9th Town Hall Meeting on Cortes Island

Aaron Gunn, the MP for North Island-Powell River came to Cortes Island on Thursday April 9. Jacob Mantle, the MP from York-Durham in Ontario,  accompanied him. About 60 expectant Cortes residents showed up at Mansons Hall. The resulting town hall meeting covered everything from the cost of living to the future of the resource sector. The report that follows consists of highly edited audio clips from an hour and a half meeting.

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Politics

Campbell River’s Acropolis: Power, Politics and the Price of Strathcona Gardens

The Acropolis is now perceived as a pinnacle of human achievement, yet 2,500 years ago many Greek city-states viewed it as a monument to tyranny. The funding for monuments like the Parthenon, Erechtheion and the Temple of Athena Nike came from the Delian League—a coalition originally formed to resist the expanding Persian Empire. However there came a point when the Persian campaigns were more about the Athenian Empire than liberty. The traditional date for this transition is 454 BC, when the great Athenian statesman Pericles transferred the Delian League’s treasury from Delos to Athens. Plutarch described this as the moment the city lost its integrity and reputation. The funds raised to free Greek cities were instead used to adorn Athens with ‘costly statues and temples worth their millions.’ (Plutarch, Life of Pericles, 12.)   

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Community, Politics

A $943,000 Question: Quadra and the Strathcona Gardens Vote

Originally published in the Bird’s Eye

Did I set out to write a two-page article this week? Nope. Did I anyway? Yup. This is a big deal for our island — and it’s still early in the series. So yes, I’m running the longest two pages in Bird’s Eye history. Sorry, not sorry. Enjoy!

By Melissa McKinney, editor/owner of the Bird’s Eye.

On March 25, the Strathcona Regional District (SRD) board voted on whether to add Quadra Island to the Strathcona Gardens recreation service area. Around 80 Area C residents showed up to watch — enough to fill the boardroom, spill out through the open double doors into the lobby, where even standing room was tight. The SRD livestreams their board meetings on YouTube, so small groups of residents huddled around phones watching their own local government meeting from the parking lot outside. Inside the lobby, the meeting’s audio played from multiple phones on a slight delay, making it difficult to follow unless you were actually in the boardroom. 

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Indigenous Nations, Tourism

A new Restaurant at the Gorge and other updates from QXMC

QXMC, the Klahoose management company, has received a grant to build a new restaurant at Gorge Harbour Marina. They also recently purchased a former manager’s home for additional guest accommodations and are reporting the best season ever at the Klahoose Wilderness Resort.

Gorge Harbour’s old Floathouse Restaurant was torn down in early 2023 because of infrastructure issues. Now, thanks to a one-million-dollar grant from the BC Government’s Rural Economic Diversification and Infrastructure Program (REDIP), a new restaurant will rise on the same site. 

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Politics

The Liberal Party Resurgence in North Island-Powell River

Jennifer Lash recently wrote a column in which she compares the Liberal Party’s results in North Island-Powell River (NIPR) during the 2015 federal election to 2025.

“According to Elections Canada, the last time the Liberal candidate had a decent showing in the polls was in 2015 when they won 25% of the vote. In 2025, I won 26.2% of the vote. In 2015 the NDP secured  40% and won the riding however in 2025 they secured only 33% of the vote and lost. Very similar showing for the Liberals, very different results for the NDP.”

Lash’s conclusion was that the Liberals didn’t split the vote in 2025, the NDP could not hold on to their ‘vote share.’

Under Rachel Blaney, the NDP received roughly 38%–40% of the popular vote in three elections (2015, 2019, and 2021). However, Blaney did not run in 2025. With a new NDP candidate and a changing political landscape, the results shifted.

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