Christy Clark’s rosy view becomes a blur in rural B.C.

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Premier Christy Clark has announced the B.C. Liberal Party will develop its first region-specific election platform for Vancouver Island. Using slightly different language, she effectively said, bring us your wish lists, the chequebook is open.

"We really want to make sure you fulfill your potential here, and the way to do that is through smart investments in everything from tourism to manufacturing to forestry, infrastructure, you name it," she told reporters at an event in Nanaimo.

Vancouver Island as a region has been overlooked by her party – in part because the Liberals have been almost frozen out by voters here. Perhaps her party sees room for growth in next May's provincial election.

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But the show of love and attention is also part of a larger epiphany by the governing B.C. Liberals, that the economy outside southwestern British Columbia is not as healthy as it could be. The pre-election season has a way of sharpening the senses.

There are two economies of British Columbia – the rural and the urban. The B.C. Liberals have long claimed to represent those living and working out there in what they once referred to as "the heartlands" where the wealth of the province was created – in forestry, mining, energy.

But the strength of the economy has shifted. It's dominated now by high tech, tourism and housing. That shift is seen in companies such as Richmond-based Corvus Energy, which makes heavy-duty lithium batteries for maritime industries. Since 2011, sales have grown from $150,000 to $11-million.

"We are a good example of seeing a need for clean technology," company chief executive Andrew Morden said.

The reason that B.C. has had bragging rights as the No. 1 economy in the country is driven by those sectors. It has allowed the provincial government to enjoy an overflowing treasury.

But, absent the treasury's real estate tax windfalls, revenues from the resource sector show the "heartlands" are struggling. There is a sharp increase in unemployment in the northeast, business investment is fizzling, mines and mills are closing. Outside of the Lower Mainland, employment rates in B.C. have been flat or have declined since 2010.

"It's amazing we are doing as well as we are," said economist Jock Finlayson of the Business Council of B.C. "Even though B.C. is leading the country in economic growth and jobs growth, when you dig more deeply, we think the province's competitive position has eroded in some sectors," Mr. Finalyson said in an interview. "That includes the whole resource economy, and also manufacturing."

In their annual submission to the finance ministry for the coming budget, the council warns that the froth around real estate sales has masked the slump in other sectors. The report argues the province needs to tackle "waning competitiveness" and has suggested the province forgo its plans to cut the corporate tax rate. Instead, the council proposes targeted tax cuts to spur investment, such as the elimination of the provincial sales tax on electricity purchases by industry and commercial users, and reduced PST on machinery and equipment purchases.

These are not the kinds of investments that the Premier has been hinting at in recent months. She has been talking about reinvestments in housing, social programs and blacktop – the tangible things that can appeal to swing voters.

With an election less than six months away, however, Ms. Clark is checking in with the heartlands. She recently created a new cabinet post, the Minister of State for Rural Economic Development. MLA Donna Barnett will be busy: There are more than a few communities with challenges to bring to her attention.

In Dawson Creek, Mayor Dale Bumstead recalls when the unemployment rate in his city was so low, you couldn't measure it. But then natural gas prices hit bottom and now unemployment is running at about 9 per cent. There is frustration that the promise of a liquefied natural gas industry hasn't taken off, Mr. Bumstead said.

He is optimistic that Dawson Creek will weather the storm, but he thinks its potential is "invisible to some segments of the province." He wants Victoria not to forget his community when they look at investments in blacktop, education and health care.

Merritt Mayor Neil Menard is also pushing to get on the radar in Victoria. His community of 7,700 will lose one of its major employers in December when the Tolko sawmill shuts down. That's 203 direct jobs, gone, and probably another 400 spin-off jobs at risk. "You stay in front of that by making sure your voice is heard in the coming election," he said. "We are going to keep harping to make sure they don't forget about our community."

The B.C. Liberals will want to campaign again on a slogan of a "strong economy." For that message to resonate in rural B.C., they have work to do.