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More public input on federal riding name change

Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP Cullen taking input until Tuesday on change to Skeena-Pacific Northwest.
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People in the federal riding of Skeena-Bulkey Valley have until Tuesday at noon to let MP Nathan Cullen know what they think of being people from the federal riding of Skeena-Pacific Northwest.

Constituents can have their opinions know through social media, email, riding offices or by calling 1-888-622-0212.

A poll is being conducted again on Facebook, this time with the name of Skeena-Pacific Northwest.

An earlier poll put out on Cullen’s Facebook page only had British Columbia Northwest as an alternative to Skeena-Bulkley Valley. It received 240 votes.

“Some folks got pretty passionate this week when I posted on Facebook that I’d be proposing to change the name of our riding to Skeena-Pacific Northwest on the basis of an online poll we did earlier this month and also people telling me for years our current name just doesn’t fit,” said Cullen in a release.

“Names matter and being able to say where and who we are through our name is important to both those of us living in the riding and also to people outside, many of whom have no clue from our current name where our riding is actually located.”

Cullen said hundreds of people from all corners of Skeena-Bulkley Valley have approached him over the years, saying the current name reflects less than 30 per cent of the people and geography of the 330,000-square kilometre riding.

With that in mind and in view of an invitation from House leaders for MPs to propose riding name changes, Cullen launched the online poll seeking further constituent guidance.

“There was a clear call for change, with 69 per cent of people supporting a new name,” Cullen said in the release.

Related: Cullen proposes riding name change

He added what he described as “tweaks from constituents” resulted in the switch from the British Columbia Northwest option to Skeena-Pacific Northwest.

Cullen acknowledged a name change would carry modest costs to update stationary. He noted his offices are about to replace worn billboards and signage that have seen 14 years of use.

The release from Cullen also gave a bit of history:

What is now Skeena-Bulkley Valley began as the riding of New Westminster when BC became the sixth province to join Confederation in 1871. By the 1896 election, the electoral map had been re-drawn and the riding of Burrard was created, turning into Comox-Atlin in 1904, Skeena in 1917 and finally Skeena-Bulkley Valley in 2003.

Interior News Web poll: What do you think of changing the name for the Skeena-Bulkley Valley federal riding?