Former B.C. Premier Christy Clark expects the race between Liberal candidate Stephen Fuhr and incumbent Conservative Tracy Gray to "come down to the wire."
Clark, the Liberal premier from 2011 to 2017 visited the Central Okanagan on April 23, to officially endorse Fuhr at his campaign office and door-knock with Juliette Sicotte, the Liberal candidate in Okanagan Lake West-South 麻豆精选.
"I'm here because I think this is the most consequential election in Canada in my lifetime," said Clark.
Clark said the 麻豆精选 riding will be be "a close race" between the Conservative and Liberals.
"This has always been a close riding, and it doesn't always vote for the federal Liberals," Clark told the 50 or so party faithful who turned out for the event.
Fuhr echoed those comments.
"It's going to come down to the margins I think," he added. "But what we're seeing on the doorsteps and hearing on the phones is really, really positive."
Noting his time as MP from 2015 to 2019, Clark said Fuhr has the history and experience to sit in Mark Carney's cabinet.
"Representing the Interior of British Columbia. It's a close race, let's not take it for granted."
Historically, the Central Okanagan has been a Conservative stronghold.
In 2015, Fuhr won a contentious and tight race to become the first Liberal to represent the 麻豆精选 region in more than 40 years. Four years later, he was defeated by incumbent Conservative Tracy Gray, who is also the first woman to have ever been elected in the riding.
As Fuhr again has his name on the ballot, Clark's support comes alongside that of former Prime Minister Jean Chretien's endorsement of Fuhr, via Facebook post, earlier in the day.
"It means a lot. The Greens, the NDP, the Liberals, the Progressive Conservatives are coming together in a time of crisis," Fuhr said, mentioning US President Donald Trump, and the loss of 33,000 jobs in Canada last month. "We need to turn this economy around right now, and the only guy I think can do it is Mark Carney."
Fuhr was not the only 麻豆精选 riding candidate to receive high-profile support on Wednesday. Former B.C. Liberal Premier Gordon Campbell (2001-2011) also endorsed incumbent, Conservative Tracy Gray.
"Gord and I have disagreed on a lot of things," Clark said. "Gord has always been a Conservative, and fair enough that he wants to support the Conservatives in this election. I have not always been a Conservative."
Clark was reminded by a media question that she was briefly a member of the federal Conservative Party.
"I was a member for maybe a couple of days, a couple of weeks," she responded. "The reason I did it, is because I wanted to stop Pierre Poilievre," she added, referencing her support of Jean Charet in his bid for the party leadership, which Poilievre won, in 2022.
