Monday saw the B.C. Liberal leader making stops throughout the mid-Island, including Qualicum Beach.
B.C. Liberal leader Christy Clark visited Courtyard Café in Qualicum Beach for a community engagement event Monday along with Parksville-Qualicum candidate Michelle Stilwell.
During her stop at Courtyard Café, Meryl Tryon, who owns the café with her husband Peter, taught Clark how to create crepes.
Tryon said Clark was an easy student, but she described the hour-long event as a whirlwind.
“It was quite overwhelming to have so many people here, but it was wonderful,” Tryon said. “It was a little bit busier than we were expecting to be.”
Dozens of people, including local elected officials, squeezed into the café on Memorial Avenue for a chance to meet the Liberal Party leader.
While Clark didn’t speak on any topics related to the upcoming provincial election, she took the time to talk with members of the community and take pictures.
Clark told The NEWS her trip through the Island was a reminder that British Columbia is not made up just of Vancouver and Victoria.
“This province is hugely diverse, there are so many small thriving communities, but the thing about this place is this is really one of the best places to live in one of the best provinces anywhere in the world,” Clark said.
Clark said a thriving business, like Courtyard Café, is supported by a strong economy.
“If we can continue to build a strong tourism economy, a strong resource economy, it means small businesses like this are going to grow. That’s where the jobs are in communities,” she said.
In the morning, Clark visited Campbell River along with North Island candidate Dallas Smith and Comox with Courtenay-Comox candidate Jim Benninger. Then in the afternoon, she visited Qualicum Beach with Stilwell before heading to Nanaimo for events with candidate Paris Gaudet. The Comox and Qualicum Beach stops were just community engagement meet-and-greets.