Canada Votes: PPC Candidate David Watson
By Abigail Popple, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, RMG
People’s Party of Canada candidate for the Prince George–Peace River–Northern Rockies riding David Watson is coming into politics with a background in construction and IT services. He previously served in the Canadian Forces Reserves and is currently a volunteer firefighter in Bear Lake, where he lives. He believes his experience in managing finances and troubleshooting technology will lend him expertise in managing government finances and understanding legislation about technology.
Running for: healthcare reform, firearms, finance
After being diagnosed with severe cataracts and experiencing delays in accessing appropriate healthcare, Watson decided to become a PPC candidate with the goal of improving healthcare for all Canadians. The PPC appealed to him for its emphasis on establishing private healthcare while compensating poorer provinces so they can continue to provide public healthcare as well, he told The Goat.
“We would like to repeal the Canada Health Act as it stands and replace it with something that is easier to manage – for one thing, less administration – and puts the onus more on provincial governments in order to have them step up and do what they need to do,” Watson said.
Additionally, the party’s stances on immigration, firearms and finance stood out to Watson. He said he agrees with the party’s stance that the government should issue a moratorium, or temporary stop, on immigrants until the housing crisis is resolved, and lower the number of permanent residents accepted each year to less than 150,000. He also believes the government should reduce its amount of employees to save money and reduce bureaucracy.
Finally, he supports repealing the Firearms Act and replacing it with legislation that allows firearms owners to receive a lifetime certification, rather than having to renew their licence every five years.
Watson says he appreciates the PPC’s emphasis on public engagement, which he describes as populist conservatism.
“Our interest in creating policies and in creating legislation is more from a bottom-up policy,” Watson said. “People have more of a right in trying to generate the legislation and the laws that will be governing them.”
Policy priorities
Watson says he wants to be realistic about how much he can accomplish within the first few months of his term, if elected.
“If you try and deal with too many things at once, you end up spinning your wheels quite often in many areas,” he said. “I would try and pick one or two areas that I feel are most important for people in this riding.”
The two issues he would prioritize would be protecting workers in the natural resource sector, and limiting immigration, he added. He wants to ensure there are enough employees in place to address emergencies for people working on pipelines and in the forestry sector, he said.
“It’s like having a strong fire department in your town before the fires happen,” he said. “I know from having fought fires that if you can’t get to something within a reasonable amount of time… you’re going to lose the whole thing. And that’s exactly what happens over and over in many areas.”
What he’s heard in the Robson Valley
Concerns about tariffs from the United States have been top of mind for many Canadians this election, which Watson says he has heard in his conversations with Robson Valley residents and others in the Prince George-Peace River-Northern Rockies riding. However, Watson believes concerns about U.S. encroachment on Canada are overblown, and says there are many misconceptions about tariffs.
“They’re blaming everything on the U.S, and I don’t think that that’s necessarily the case at all,” Watson said. “I believe that the U.S. government has a very definite set of goals, but I don’t believe any of those goals actually are taking over Canada.”
He added that he has heard concerns about immigration as well, and he supports deporting immigrants whose visas have expired.
Helping small communities navigate big issues
Watson has been involved with the PPC since 2023 and says the experience has given him lots of opportunities to connect with voters face-to-face and over email. He says Members of Parliament should make it a priority to listen to their constituents’ concerns.
“The people have to be listened to. They have to be heard and they have to be paid attention to,” Watson said.
He added that he would try to contact residents most affected by issues to understand what their needs are.
“The federal government can always come up with money… but sometimes just throwing some money at a situation is not always the right answer,” Watson said. “Sometimes it’s letting people work in their own areas and dealing with their subjects in the best way that they know how.”
Closing remarks
Watson says he wants residents to vote for whoever aligns with their own beliefs, so they are happy with their representation in Parliament.
“If I am elected, I want people to be happy with their representation,” he said. “And the easiest way for people to be happy with their representation is if they vote based on their beliefs and values.”
