A bit of geographic confusion helped bring Houston resident Dan Stuart to his current status as the Christian Heritage Party - BC (CHP-BC) candidate for the Nechako Lakes in this provincial election.
“I actually wanted to vote for Rod Taylor,” said Stuart of the trip he made in the 2017 provincial election to his local polling station to cast a ballot for the CHP-BC candidate in the Stikine riding.
“But I found his [Stikine] riding ended at Hungry Hill so I voted [BC] Liberal instead.”
Stuart kept in contact with Taylor, exchanging information and ideas and that eventually resulted in Stuart becoming more involved with CHP-BC to the point he’s now the party’s candidate in Nechako Lakes as well as holding its key administrative position as party president.
Stuart is one of the five CHP-BC candidates, of which three are running in the north. The other two are Taylor, a former provincial leader and current leader of the federal CHP who is running again in Stikine and Dee Kranz who is running in the Prince George-Mackenzie riding. Party leader Laura-Lynn Thompson is running in Abbotsford.
Stuart, 72, is a relative newcomer to the area, arriving in Houston shortly before the 2017 provincial election was called.
Born in Langley, Stuart, however, spent most of his working life in Alberta.
“I’m what you would call a ‘Jack of All Trades - Master of None’,” said Stuart of a working career which included a stint in a coal mine, being a safety supervisor on projects, driving a bus and being a driver on “hot shots,” the term given to delivering goods and material quickly to a destination.
He and his wife moved to Houston to be closer to her mother, a decision that agreed with Stuart who says he prefers small town life.
“I went back to Langley and now it is all concrete and pavement. What a change,” he said.
Stuart is firmly rooted in the Christian philosophy that underpins both the Christian Heritage Party’s provincial and federal arms but does concede that some might consider him to be a conspiracy theorist.
“It’s time to get rid of the corruption,” said Stuart who has been harshly critical of federal and provincial provisions which provide public monies to political parties.
CHP-BC also opposes union and corporate contributions to political parties, saying they should be financed by the voluntary contributions of members and supporters.
Stuart’s pro-life, a core foundation of the provincial and federal arms of the Christian Heritage Party and he describes himself as pro-family to the extent that a family is “a man and a wife, a woman.”
“I also believe in free speech, I believe in the Judeo-Christian founding of this country. If we dumped that to go the other way, then we’re drifting,” said Stuart.
Deep within Stuart’s philosophy is an anti-vaccination stance in which he fears vaccinations are to be mandatory, referring to New Testament verses setting out 666 as the Mark of the Beast, a required symbol for anyone wishing to buy and sell, and profits going to a single person.
“I believe vaccinations are going to come down to a marketing thing,” he added, bringing in wealth to individuals, one who he lists as Microsoft billionaire Bill Gates.
Gates, he said, is financing microchips, which can be taken to be the Mark of the Beast, which can be injected as part of a vaccine.
“Without that, you won’t be able to buy or sell anything,” said Stuart.
He freely calls the COVID-19 pandemic and its resulting economic and social effects a scam that is aiding a move to mandatory vaccinations.
“I believe it is [a scam]. I believe it is a flu, but no worse than any other flu,” he said adding that the SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) which swept through in 2003 also killed people.
“So now, all of a sudden, we’re shutting down our entire economy. There is a fear, but it is a fear over vaccination, not COVID-19,” Stuart continued.
Stuart recalled that Taylor, who he describes as a mentor and an invaluable help with CHP-BC, said someone should run in Nechako Lakes.
Deciding to stand as a candidate didn’t come easy with Stuart saying he depended upon prayer.
“But they called the election and here I am,” he added in saying he now has a chance to put his views forward.