Canada Votes: Conservative MP Candidate Bob Zimmer

By Abigail Popple, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, RMG

Incumbent MP and Conservative candidate Bob Zimmer has served in Parliament since 2011. He said he first ran for MP to make a positive difference in the Prince George-Peace River-Northern Rockies riding, and is running again to improve the local economy. He added that his years of experience in Parliament mean he won’t have to learn on the job.

“We should have one of the strongest resource sectors – whether it’s forestry or oil, natural gas or mining – and we don’t,” Zimmer said. “All that work remains undone. We look forward to winning the next election and being an economic powerhouse like we should be.”

Running for: economic issues, natural resources, affordability

Zimmer said he began his career in politics to help improve the national economy, and he hopes a Conservative government would implement beneficial economic policy. He pointed to the carbon tax as one Liberal policy which has had adverse impacts on affordability.

“We’ve gone backwards the last decade, and we want to get going back in the right direction,” he said. “I think that’s my main goal now, and I look forward to getting back after it.

Zimmer said he is encouraged by Pierre Poilievre’s leadership of the Conservative Party and has confidence in Poilievre’s ability to execute the Conservative platform.

“There’s going to be some limitations when we get to Ottawa… but we’re going to get a lot done regardless of those limitations, because that’s who Pierre is and who we are as a team,” Zimmer said. “I’ve never seen a stronger leader and a stronger Conservative caucus than we have right now.”

Policy Priorities

Supporting the natural resource sector is at the forefront of Zimmer’s mind this election cycle. He said there are many bureaucratic barriers in place preventing communities from bringing natural resource businesses to their area, saying he spoke with miners in the Yukon Territory who expressed frustration with barriers to establishing a mineral mine.

“We look forward to coming into government and really streamlining some of these processes, no less stringent on what’s needed to do around protecting our environment and conservation,” Zimmer said. “There’s so much red tape for some of these projects that we know we need.”

Zimmer also said he is concerned about Chinese and Russian surveillance of the Canadian Arctic, given his experience as Shadow Minister of Northern Affairs and Arctic Sovereignty. 

“We need a government that’s going to take our sovereignty seriously,” he said. “We have a leader [Poilievre] who’s going to get the job done and is very dedicated to making sure that our sovereignty is secure.”

What he’s heard from the Robson Valley

Affordability is one of the main concerns facing voters across Canada, and this riding is no different, Zimmer said. He pointed to the carbon tax as one policy which his constituents have highlighted as a cost that makes it harder to make ends meet.

Zimmer added that a declining number of jobs in the natural resource sector has also impacted his constituents. He said he will support opportunities to bring natural gas and oil jobs into his riding.

“In these areas like Fort Nelson, Valemount and McBride, we used to have vibrant resource economies,” Zimmer said. “Now those same [people] – whether they’re a mill worker, an oil and gas worker, a miner – they struggle to put food on the table because they sometimes lack a job.”

Helping small communities with big issues

Zimmer said the federal government should work to prevent natural disasters in communities, and be swift to respond when disasters do unfold.

“Proactive is really what we should be. Instead of fixing a burnt community, how about we just do what it takes to not have the community burn in the first place?” he said. “In McBride, for instance, we had the [2020 mudslide] and a very slow-reacting Environment Canada… a more responsive government to the needs of those communities is what’s necessary instead of big, bloated bureaucracies that don’t seem to listen to the people anymore.”

He added that his four offices – based in Prince George, Fort St. John, Dawson Creek and Ottawa – are available for constituents who would like to meet him in person, and his team can also be reached by email.

Closing remarks

Zimmer said he won’t rest on his laurels if re-elected. He added that he will work hard to represent his constituents in Ottawa.

“I never, ever consider it a done deal in terms of the election. We work hard every election,” he said. “I look at ourselves and myself as a servant to the entire community of 116,000 people. I look forward to keep serving our communities in that capacity.”