B.C. municipal election 2018: Fort St. John results

Lori Ackerman has been acclaimed as mayor of Fort St. John, and she will lead a council consisting of Becky Grimsrud, Lilia Hansen, Gord Klssen, Byron Stewart, Tony Zabinsky and Trevor Bolin.

Council will consist of a group of incumbents and newcomers. Returning to council are Hansen, Klassen, Stewart and Bolin. Incumbents Larry Evans and Bruce Christensen failed to win re-election.

Grimsrud and Zabinsky are Fort St. John council’s newcomers.

Candidates

Mayor

Lori Ackerman (incumbent) – acclaimed

Council

Trevor Bolin (incumbent) – elected

Bruce Christensen (incumbent)

Larry Evans (incumbent)

Chuck Fowler

Becky Grimsrud – elected

Lila Hansen (incumbent) – elected

Gabor Haris

Jim Harris

Justin Jones

Gord Klassen (incumbent) – elected

Denise Menard

Byron Stewart (incumbent) – elected

Tony Zabinsky – elected

Boundary

Fort St. John is located in northeastern B.C., about 75 kilometres north of Dawson Creek and a short distance from the Peace River.

Population (2016)

20,155

History

Fort St. John as the biggest centre of activity in B.C. north of Prince George.

The Peace River region, where Fort St. John lies, was long inhabited by Indigenous peoples including the Doig River First Nation, the Halfway River First Nation and the Blueberry River First Nation, who were there for millennia before European settlement began.

Fort St. John would become B.C.’s first site for Euro-Canadian settlement in 1793, with Alexander Mackenzie’s exploration in the region.

In 1794, the Rocky Mountain Fort was set up close to the site where Fort St. John now stands.

Forts were at a number of other locations near the river.

The Alaska Highway was built through Fort St. John in 1942, and 12 soldiers died at nearby Charlie Lake as they tried to transport equipment.

Fort St. John would see new economic activity with the discovery of petroleum in the 1950s.

Oil and gas workers found a large natural gas field.

Today, Fort St. John is called B.C.’s “Energy Capital.”

Median total income of couple economic families with children (2015)/B.C. median

$136,915/$111,736

Crime Severity Index (CSI) — 2016

RCMP – municipal/B.C.

121.53 (-24.65)/93.63 (-0.17)

RCMP – rural/B.C.

54.59 (-16.64)/93.63 (-0.17)

Violent Crime Severity Index (VCSI) — 2016

RCMP – municipal/B.C.

132.53 (-38.78)/74.86 (-9.81)

RCMP – rural/B.C.

54.29 (-28.27)/74.86 (-9.81)

Political representation

Federal

Bob Zimmer (Conservative)

Provincial

Dan Davies (BC Liberal)