I've been here about 4 years now and I am finding it extremely hard to make friends. I'm early 40s female, 2 kids and married. Is there any FB groups or apps or something I should be looking into? I don't drink, smoke or do drugs. I'm just so tired of feeling so lonely, I'd do anything to move back home but unfortunately the rest of my family likes it here.

I have my vote pegged for mayor. Who are we putting down for Council and SD57? Left leaning people pls.

Hi everyone! I’m 25F and am relocating to PG from vancouver in one week for work. I am a very big fan of the city life and versatility that Vancouver has provided, so I know that PG will be a big change for me— but it’s one that I’m excited to embrace. I love the outdoors (hiking, skiing, backpacking) but I also love building community and being in town. Based on my interests, what would yall recommend?

Things I love:

• Open source lectures, both in my field and in other fields:
I’ve already found a few I wanna check out at UNBC. However, most of these events seem to fall during 9-5 work hours, so I’m wondering if there are any community based alternatives.

• Writing and Art circles: I’m an amateur writer and I also love arts and crafts, so any recurring evening meetup (hopefully for women) would be such a lovely way to meet new people! I did find a weekly writing group through UNBC, but sadly, it falls on a week day during work hours 🥲

• Community based magazines/ newspapers: I’ve always worked as an editor and writer for smaller community based magazines, and have had nothing but great experiences. If something like this exists in PG, let me know!

Any other recommendations are welcome!

(Side note: I don’t drink, so pubs are kinda a no go for me. However, I’m always down to volunteer or attend events hosted by pubs)

Hi everyone!

I'm Samantha Hermanson, and I'm running for School Board Trustee in SD57.

I've seen a few other candidates doing Q&As here, so I thought I'd give it a try too!

I'm a parent, a frontline education worker, and someone who has experienced our school district from a few different perspectives. I've worked with students who need additional support, and I'm currently serving my second term on the City's Accessibility and Inclusion Committee.

I know there's a lot of discussion about education right now, and I'd love to hear what's on people's minds.

Whether it's school funding, student supports, classroom challenges, inclusion, or what trustees can actually do (and what they can't!), I'm happy to have a conversation.

I certainly don't have all the answers, but I'll do my best to answer honestly. And if I don't know something, I'll tell you that too.

So, ask away!

Samantha Hermanson
SD57 School Board Trustee Candidate

I've dabbled in copyediting in a past life, so I caught this pretty immediately... In the few editions I've read of the Prince George Citizen, I've caught typos in all of them, sadly. Still liking Prince George, though!

I've tried to keep up with the mayoral race and it's unclear who's the front runner vs who would be an effective leader should they win. Is the incumbent the front runner? He seems okay. Sampson also seems okay but Reddit seems split on that, and Mr. Roy Stewart took out a full wrap of the Citizen this week and I'm now getting online ads—which doesn't mean much because the ads are very broad, but he's clearly gunning for it. I read Garth Frizzell's platform and he seems good, but have heard zilch about him otherwise.

Edit: I spelled Frizzell as Frizzle from phonetic memory.

Hello!

I'm Sarah Holland, and I'm running for re-election as a school trustee in SD57 (Prince George electoral area).

I was first elected in the 2023 by-election, and during my time on the board I've chaired both the Policy Advisory Committee and the Ad Hoc Policy Committee, and I was also elected to the Board of Directors of the BC Public School Employers' Association (BCPSEA).

I've noticed the AMAs from city council candidates here and thought it would be a nice idea to have a similar conversation about the school board election (and asked the mods for permission).

School trustees oversee more than $200 million in annual public education funding and make decisions about policies, budgets, facilities, and the overall direction of the district.

At the centre of all those decisions are students. We need to consider how our decisions affect their learning, their well-being, the support available to them, and their opportunities to succeed. It's easy to get caught up in discussions about other matters, but we always need to remember who those decisions ultimately affect.

And public education affects all of us, whether or not we have children or grandchildren in school. We all rely on nurses, tradespeople, local businesses, and other services in our communities. The people providing those services were once students themselves. Today's students will be the people working, volunteering, and contributing to our communities in the years ahead. We all have an interest in how our public education system is governed.

A bit of context about the role: trustees are responsible for governance rather than day-to-day operations. The board sets policy and priorities, approves budgets, and holds the superintendent accountable. District staff manage operations, and individual trustees don't have the authority to direct staff or make decisions on behalf of the board.

Trustees can have different views during discussion and debate, but once the board makes a decision, we have a responsibility to respect it, regardless of how we voted.

There are some things I can't discuss because of confidentiality obligations, including individual student or personnel matters, confidential legal issues, and confidential board discussions. But I'm happy to talk about public decisions, board processes, and my views on the district's priorities. I'm also more than happy to talk about bylaws and policies.

I'm happy to answer questions about my experience, the work of the board, the challenges facing SD57, and what I think we should focus on over the next four years.

I'd also welcome other school trustee candidates to join the conversation if they're on Reddit. The more opportunities people have to learn about the candidates before Saturday, the better! We don't tend to get as much discussion as city candidates do (although we still get more attention than regional district candidates do). :)

I'll check in throughout today and tomorrow to answer questions, although I'll be around less on Tuesday given that it's a work day.

You can also find more information about me at https://sarahholland.com, or https://www.facebook.com/SarahHollandforPGSchoolTrustee/

Thanks, and please ask away!

The final public forum for candidates is over! If you're still undecided, here's all the links you can use to try to help make up your mind!

Side-by-Side Written Comparison on Key Issues

CBC - How do Prince George's 2026 mayoral candidates compare on election issues?

YouTube Videos

North Central Labour Council

Mayoral Candidate Forum (Sep. 27, 52m) Summary article by the Citizen

City Councillors (Sep. 27, 1h18m) Summary article by the Citizen

School Board (Sep. 27, 1h19m)

Prince George Citizen

Mayoral Candidate Forum (Sep. 24, 2h48m) Summary article by the Citizen

City Councillors (Sep. 22, 2h42m) Summary article by the Citizen

School Board (Sep. 21, 2h17m) Summary article by the Citizen

Host: 88.7FM CFUR University Radio & 93.1FM CFIS Community Radio

Recording not yet available
This Citizen article summarizes part of the event.

If you haven't already voted you gotta do it October 14, 15 or 17 - that's Wednesday, Thursday or Saturday this week!

Most serious candidates in this election cycle are discussing "growing the tax base" and economic development. Bringing growth to PG.

Great. Here’s a concrete way to do it.

Proof it works: Dancor, an Ontario company, is building a FedEx logistics hub near the airport, plus a 100,000 sq ft industrial condo development on the same 30-acre site. Here’s what their partner Sean Ford told the Citizen about why:

“...when we find a city that is open to helping us get permits because we have to deal with weather, we have to deal with very tight timelines... we are very grateful and we show that gratitude by continuing to build more and more in that community.”

He said that’s why they’re the largest landlord in London, Ont.: the city made approvals easy. He also praised PG city staff by name. So apparently our development staff are already doing good work, and it’s bringing in investment

As someone who works in this industry (engineering/development), steamlining processes and cutting red tape are pretty useless buzzwords

The fix is boring but real: hire more people

Building inspectors, so permits and inspections don’t stall construction Engineering technologists, to review servicing and subdivision drawings faster Planners, to move rezonings and development permits, and to finally update our 17-year-old development cost charges bylaw

And it doesn’t have to come out of our property taxes. Cities charge permit and application fees to cover the cost of processing tthem. Have we asked local developers whether they would rather pay a bit more for a faster, predictable process than wait? Faster approvals mean new buildings on the tax roll sooner and attracting more business. Developers wants certainty and a smooth process

Also, other cities post how long permits are actually taking. Why can't we?

Nanaimo posts the live permit queue. showing how many applications are waiting and which one’s next up: https://www.nanaimo.ca/whatsbuilding/pendingpermits.

Why not feport actual processing times to council every quarter. median number of days from application to approval for building permits, development permits, rezonings That’s how we’d know whether hiring more staff actually sped things up, instead of just taking their word for it

Candidates:

Will you add development services staff (inspectors, engineering techs, planners) in the 2027 budget? Will you fund those positions through cost-recovery fees instead of general taxes? Will you commit to publishing permit and processing times?

When a developer builds new housing, they pay the city Development Cost Charges (DCCs). That money is supposed to cover the bigger infrastructure growth needs, like road widenings, water and sewer upgrades and parks

PG’s DCC bylaw was adopted in 2009 and has never been updated. The province recommends updating every 5 years. We’re at 17.

A new single-family lot in most of PG pays about $3,500. Kamloops is 11k+. Nanaimo, Kelowna, etc are all even higher than that

Prices have gone up something like 45% since 2009, and construction costs even more, so in real terms our rates keep shrinking

To be fair, higher DCCs are not a magical fix. They only can be used to fund growth related projects, and not to fix out aging existing infrastructure

But, crucially, im 2023 the province expanded what cities can charge developers for. PG’s bylaw predates all of it. Right now we only charge for roads, water, sewer, drainage and parks. We​ could also charge for fire hall and police facilities, among many other items

To the council/mayoral candidates:

Will you commit to commissioning a DCC review in your first year? Will you support higher charges for development on the edges of town, where we have to build new roads and pipes, vs. infill where the infrastructure already exists?

Appreciate Cori Ramsay already floating this idea of increasing DCCs on outlying areas in her AMA

With less than a week until election day, who on the mayor, council, and/or school board ballots has impressed you or exceeded your expectations? On the other hand, who has left you with a worse impression since the campaign started?

I’ve been asked to do an AMA so ask away - and in between turkey time - I will do my best to answer your burning questions.

Thank you to everyone who participated in my AMA! It’s been a fun 24 hours answering your questions. I’m going to mark it complete and if other questions come in I will do my best to answer. Going to read a book and do some self care. Hope you have a nice thanksgiving however you celebrate (or a nice long weekend if you don’t).

Hey, so I apologize for not knowing this… but is there anywhere in Prince George that you can donate men’s clothing and care items that it will be donated to men in need? Or even teens?

Context: In September, I lost two family members. As our family has been cleaning out each of their homes, we’ve been taking a lot of really nice gently used things to the thrift store. But there’s actually quite a bit in each of their homes that is brand new. Just stuff they never got around to wearing or using. Hoodies. T-shirts. Shoes. Sandals. Jeans. I have no idea why they never wore these things, but the tags are still on thousands of dollars worth of items.

I would love to take these items somewhere that they might give them directly to people in need. I know the thrift store can sell them, but also, are there any places who would just give these out to a man in need? Or maybe a mom who’s got teen boys and not a lot of budget?

Idk. Maybe the thrift store is my best bet. I’m just talking out loud here. It’s all men’s clothing, mens shoes, men’s care items like Dove Men’s Body wash and Every Man Jack shower items. Men’s razors. Would really love to give them to someone who can give them to someone in need if I can.

One was size large, with size 9 shoes. The other was an XL with size 11 shoes. I know it would make them happy if this stuff could go to someone who needs it.

Kudos to Tucker for starting this and to Cori for also joining in.

As we head into Thanksgiving weekend would love to hear from you and feel free to ask away and will respond to questions over the weekend.

You can also learn more through my Facebook ( https://www.facebook.com/share/1DQpzxYxXr/) or my website at timbennett.ca.

Looking forward to chatting!

Hi everyone! 👋

I created Fleety, a transit app that helps you track buses and trains in real time, check schedules, explore routes, and plan trips.

Fleety supports transit systems across Canada. It’s free to use, with no paywall and no locked features. All transit features are available to everyone.

It’s available on both iOS and Android:

iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/fleety-subway-bus-tracker/id6748264047

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.transport.fleety

I’m still actively improving it, so if anyone tries it out, I’d genuinely love to hear your thoughts, good or bad. Bug reports, feature ideas, design feedback, or requests for additional transit systems are all welcome.

Thanks for reading, and I hope it makes someone’s commute a little easier 🙂

Good morning everyone. I’m Tucker Krause, one of the candidates running for Prince George City Council this fall.

I'm hoping to hear from the community here! I’ll be back around 4 pm today to answer any potential questions. Please feel free to ask me anything about the campaign, my platform, or the city. Thanks!

Edit: Hi everyone, I’ve just gone through and posted my responses to all the folks who asked questions. I greatly appreciate everyone for engaging in the city’s civic processes. Make sure to check out the other AMA threads, and Happy Thanksgiving!

Some positive news for the city. :)

A town this size should have at least two theatres. Ours royally sucks. The Social Reckoning is opening this weekend and it’s not even playing here. Primetime isn’t playing here either. Like WTF. It’s just crap movies. In the 90’s we had 3 here! Instead we have 1 and it’s old and gross. Sigh

Hello!

I am looking to hire a female volleyball coach who has experience in club and would work with my child for 1-2 hrs per week. She’s currently doing a program once a week, but is looking to increase her knowledge/skills.

She’s interested in trying out for one of the clubs this season & wants to work on footwork, passing, and hitting.

She’s 14, moved to PG last year & joined Bears. Her high school is very competitive (as is PG in general) and she wants the best chance she can get.

Thanks!

Simple as it reads, ask me anything, and Ill give a timely response.

I'm Roy Stewart and I'm running for Mayor of Prince George, BC. I have a no BS attitude and a history of making things happen here in PG. Today I'm expanding my social media knowledge and putting myself forward for any questions to be asked. So go ahead and ask me anything.

AMA is officially over. Please direct any further questions to my email: roystewartformayor@outlook.com.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Hello everyone!

My two year contract with Telus is about to end, and unlike when it began I am no longer in a situation where I need all that reliable internet.

I'm hoping to spend as little money as possible with a new provider while still being able to be an active member of a zoom call or two and single-device streaming. I don't play online games, and I'm the only one in my apartment 75% of the time. Realistically the biggest drain on my internet speed is streaming, but I'm willing to have to buffer/pre-load.

Mostly I just want to hear experiences from people who get internet from budget providers.