For Jobs. For Growth. For PG
1. Business and jobs first
Keep, start, and grow businesses. Champion resources and manufacturing. Make City Hall get to yes. Build regional partnerships so PG stays the hub.
2. Restore the BC Rail corridor
Save the public railway. Add shortline freight, inland port, defence logistics, passenger rail, emergency backup, and a corridor trail.
3. Public safety
Coordinate services, don’t just spend more. Partner with First Nations. Make downtown safer and usable. Enforce bylaws fairly. Improve wildfire and forest management in and around the city.
4. Livable neighbourhoods
Support seniors, families, and young professionals. Keep taxes in check. Build for winter and safety. Protect civic buildings, wildfire lands, and parks.
5. Accountability and open government
Demand budget numbers. Scrap Current Whistleblower and Code of Conduct Policies to protect staff and speech of elected officials. Use the Fortis windfall wisely. Restore local notices, audits, and real partnerships.
Want more details? See below:
Finding Solutions with a Can-do attitude to Build a Thriving City.
Update 2026…first what I wrote back in 2022:
Business and our natural resource and secondary manufacturing sector
Trudy’s top priority is taking leadership in encouraging businesses to remain, start up and expand here in Prince George.
We have immense opportunities in our natural resource and secondary manufacturing sectors, but we have suffered from a lack of courage and vision.
Trudy will champion these causes in our city and in our region so that we become a destination for opportunity.
Every Councillor has one vote. Trudy’s vote will reflect this top priority and the following platform planks. Click on links for videos from my campign back in 2022.
My 2026 platform is not changed much…
…just I know more. It is written in a conversational style, partly because I believe running our city should be a conversation between residents and politicians, but mostly because, in the words of Mark Twain: “My letter is long because I do not have enough time to write a short one.”
I may have more time later to tweak and make bullet points.
Downtown
What DID YOU DO, Trudy?
DONE: Worked with BC Government to get more supportive housing and shelters built so we could remove the injunction on Moccasin Flats.
DONE: Learning on the ground: I spent hours helping with Moccasin Flats cleanups, attending meals served by volunteers, prepping the temporary 24/7 warming centre, working on a 24/7 plan that hasn’t come to fruition, attending Healing Fires etc.
DONE: Worked hard to help people decamp to ensure the Milenium Park decampment went as smooth as possible.
DONE: I heard many presentations from those on the ground at the Mayor’s Public Safety Committee. Good decisions begin with good information, which was the goal of the committee. Link to Public Safety Minutes: thttps://www.princegeorge.ca/city-hall/mayor-council/meetings-agendas-minutesy-hall/mayor-council/meetings-agendas-minutes
DONE: sent consideration to Council to use the report from Dr. Amelia Merrick on the amount ($180Million taxpayer money) being spent each year. The funds are mostly from the federal and provincial governments. There are great service providers, but we need better coordination and collaboration to make maximum impact. People’s lives and businesses depend on us making things better. (Need more work on this)
DONE: Got majority approval for my motion to have staff to return with a plan for a downtown Navigation Centre to help people find the services they need. This is part one of a three-part plan.
DONE: I helped remove and change how Statistics Canada measures crime in smaller cities. This work started with attending a CSI Forum in Saskatoon in February 2024. North Battleford convened high-CSI Western municipalities in Saskatoon. Leaders pressed Statistics Canada over rankings that branded small cities “crime capitals.” A steering committee then worked with StatsCan and police chiefs. The 2023 release dropped municipal rankings and added context that the index is not a simple safety score.
TO DO: Part Two: Work with all the agencies on the ground, as well as with NH, CINH. FNHA, Indigenous groups and First Nations in our region to improve access to daytime spaces, health care, detox, rehabilitation and…
TO DO: Part Two B: Work with all existing and potential partners to develop release plans from prison, hospital and eventually the psychiatric care facility so that people do not fall back. There are some homes, like Sonrise, already operating, but we need more, especially ones out in the countryside so people can get better long-term.
More money is NOT the answer.
TO DO: Continue to work to change the culture of our city to one of “How can we treat everyone with respect while making our downtown (and city) more attractive.” Some downtown business owners have no problems….why is that? Let’s use their success to improve our downtown.
One roadblock: Majority of Council has been reluctant to engage with First Nations on these issues. However, 70 to 80% of homeless in Prince George are Indigenous. We will not change downtown without working with their communities.
TO DO: It’s time we start working with people instead of thinking we can solve the issues in the downtown by using even more taxpayer money, or by simply ignoring the probem.
On OCT 17, Elect a Mayor and Council that believes in partnership, collaboration, and respect to solve our challenges, instead of just spending even more money.
more to come…..
Flashback to 2022 Platform:
Let’s not keep repeating what’s not working.
It’s time to take responsibility to improving the situation downtown.
There are four general groups that need solutions:
The unhoused-continually re-traumatised and vulnerable, harmed by current bylaws
The business owner, faced with, for example: $50,000 taxes, $30,000 new fencing to protect property, $70,000 cleanup bill for vandalized spilled fuel
The shopper, customers who want to enjoy our downtown (and support the businesses)
Everyone is a taxpayer, and City Hall is accountable for wise spending of resources
My job as Councillor is to find solutions in everyone’s best interest
My plan:
Consult with the experts-the unhoused and their advocates/stakeholders, First Nations, CNC and UNBC.
Develop an evidence-based plan to improve the downtown for all four groups to implement short term (3-6 months??)
Establish a way to measure progress
Implement the plan
Report back weekly to Mayor and City Manager and monthly to Council
If there is no measurable success after 3 or 6 months, then we try something else.
A thriving city takes care of it’s vulnerable, keeps crime under control, and has a downtown that everyone can enjoy.
Support for Seniors
Building our city with seniors in mind means ensuring reliable supports, services, and community connections that allow elders to remain here with dignity and purpose.
More seniors are staying or moving to our city because of lower living costs and to be near their children, and Senior Centres play a vital role in providing social, recreational, and practical supports.
DONE: In December 2025 I voted in favor of Mayor Yu’s recommendation to distribute the remaining Council contingency fund to Senior Centres. Majority of Council voted that down, so as I recognized the need for stable funding, I worked with the Prince George Community Foundation to establish a Senior Centre Sustainability Fund.
Facing community backlash, during the 2026 budget discussions, majority Council ultimately approved annual funding plus a one-time donation to the Sustainability Fund. The Foundation manages that fund entirely.
TO DO: To further support seniors we must also keep the city affordable (which means controlling the city budget and ensuring we are open for business) and welcoming for young families and attract and retain health professionals so intergenerational communities can thrive.
TO DO: create fairness in taxpayer support for Senior Centres
For YOU to DO:
Elect a strong and serious Council majority that understands the need to better oversee spending and collaborate with our community to ensure PG works for Seniors.
The Rules:
Bylaws and laws exist to serve the people. Policing exists to protect and support the community.
DOING AND TO DO: I will work to continue and build on the progress staff have recently made to improve and strengthen the relationship between the public, Bylaws and Policing teams so those services better serve residents.
My priorities:
Support ongoing collaboration between Bylaws and Policing staff, ensuring open communication and shared goals.
Encourage joint training and clear protocols so both teams apply rules fairly, consistently, and with respect for community needs.
Promote transparency and public engagement so residents understand how bylaws are enforced and can give input on priorities and practices.
Monitor outcomes and adjust approaches based on data and community feedback to reduce conflict and improve service delivery.
Advocate for resources that allow both teams to respond effectively, humanely, and equitably.
By centering the needs of the people, improving coordination between Bylaws and Policing, and keeping accountability and transparency at the forefront, we can build safer, more respectful, and more responsive public services.
To come:
JOBS! We need people on Council who understand how jobs are created and SHOW UP at business events to promote PG!-
-Downtown Life (my NOM went nowehere)
-Riverfront ideas (lets keep working on that)
-normalize collaboration with Chamber of Commerce, CNC, UNBC and SD57
-normalize collaboration with Indigenous communities
-public notices- need to be publically accessable for posterity (return to posting in paper of record)
-City Land Aquasition and Sale Policy ($4 Million dollar puchase of Knights Inn)
-attracting proffesionals
-arts centres -work with sponsors and donors. Arts community needs to work together, perhaps with a campaign similar to UNBC?
-Senior Housing- ask Council of Seniors and Senior’s Advocate to present to Council to get first-hand information
-Farmer’s Markets and Food Production-let’s build our food production…not by trying to grow bananas, but by marketing what we can grow (rhubarb— how about a Rhubarb Festival?—- and getting permission to build more meat processing facilities. Also, let’s make work to combine our Farmer Markets and perhaps bring them to Kopar Arena? Let’s talk about ways to collaborate for the betterment of everyone!
Thriving PG
Small and Medium Businesses and Industry
What DID YOU DO, Trudy?
I realized early on that the majority of Council was not focused on addressing the real needs of the business community with the urgency required, so I made it my mission to be an ambassador to the business community. I attended every BCNatural Resources Forum and business event I possibly could to help bring the face of PG to the industry.
DOING/OnGOING: Saving BCRail. Rail is the cheapest way to move goods. Since October I’ve built a coalition of mayors and First Nations to prevent the BCR line between 100 Mile House and Squamish from being sold for scrap. In January NDIT hired planner Peter Scholz to work with me.
Small Successes:
The BC government has made a committment that the railway won’t be sold to CN for $1.
The informal group, now called the BCR Corridor Alliance, now has backing from nearly all municipalities and seven First Nations along the corridor. Work continues until we have a shortline operator along the route, with passenger rail as well!
Getting Business and Development to Yes:
DONE: From nearly day one on Council, I answered and forwarded to our staff countless emails and calls of challenges that business people and builders, large and small, were facing in getting the appropriate licensing or permitting. Because this is a staffing issue, those things are not discussed in public. Unfortunately…this has not been a great concern to majority of this Council.
DONE: gave advice on navigating the system.
DONE: attended each and every business event I possibly could to hear from business owners and to extoll the virtues of doing business in PG.
DONE: Argued against the OCP changes that restrict development, which expanded the Urban Containment Boundary. This change made it harder for anyone to build in undeveloped areas. I know we need to reduce sprawl, but it’s not sprawl if it is done right. People love our city for the space we have…let’s not remove one of our assets! (not successful as majority of current Council voted against this.)
DONE: argued for a more engaged public process in planning our city. Mayor Yu wanted a large 3-D interactive map to make it easier for residents, developers and investors to see what our city offers, but majority of Council voted it down earlier this year. Prince Rupert Chamber of Commerce has one, and it is very helpful to see the city landscape and infrastructure in one.
TO DO for Small and Medium Sized Business: FIRST IMPORTANCE:
Residents need to:
Elect a Mayor and Council that knows how important small and medium sized businesses are to our community!
In my opinion, the majority of current Councillors do not have adequate understanding of how to attract and grow our business community.
TO DO: Improved Economic Development: We need to develop relationships with our neighbours all around us. Develop a “map” of what our shared concerns and opportunities are, to build resiliancy. Then together we need to build relationships with current and future trading communities, to find ways to collaborate and support our talent.
Prince George is NOT alone, we ARE the hub, but we need to work with our entire region to strengthen our economy.
TO DO: We need to review how we treat staff and ensure they are properly trained to serve builders and business owners. Then we need to make “Get to Yes” the mantra of any staff interaction with the public.
TO DO: get monthly reports from our Development Services Department that includes data on inquiries and complaints and work to respond to meet the needs of the business community.
more to come…..
Flashback to 2022
Let’s build a responsive and efficient city hall to build a thriving city.
SME (Small and Medium Sized Enterprise) owners are more vulnerable to inefficiencies at City Hall. A thriving city has a quick response time and a service-minded and “Can-do" attitude at City Hall.
We need to be an attractive place for the natural resource industry to operate as they provide opportunities for our SMEs. Welcoming them will provide opportunities for everyone.
Accountability
City Projects
What DID YOU DO, Trudy?
DONE: Voted against, what was in my opinion, a poorly planned CN Centre Envelope project. Only Mayor Yu and Brian Skakun voted against it with me. Majority voted in favour, so it is going ahead unless the election changes the majority of Council.
DONE: Voted against the Aquatic Centre “Upgrade” which has the pool closed for two years. Majority of Council voted for it twice, even after Mayor Yu brought it back for reconsideration.
DONE: Voted AGAINST Budgets in the last year due to not sufficient information.
DONE: Tried at F&A and in Council to get KPI’s and Metrics on budget line items over 5% of the Budget. Got SIGNIFICANT pushback from majority of Council, but finally got a lunch and learn with Finance Staff to ask us what kind of metrics we would like. This hasn’t happened yet, and at this point, is unlikeley for this coming budget season. IF serious Council Candidates are elected who respect voters, then we can insist on those numbers during the budget time.
TO BE DONE: First job belongs to you, the residents: Mayor Yu deserves another chance with a Council that also respects voters and taxpayer dollars and has ideas about how we can save money on our projects.
TO DO: develop partnerships (properly transparent) with companies and come up with innovative ways to build the facilities we need.
TO DO: do more engagement with the building community to ensure we get the right quotes for our projects.
TO DO: develop a system that ensures capital projects are built for PG weather, not Vancouver.
TO BE DONE: if residents elect strong Councillors who are experienced in building, then I would advocate for a building community engagement process that would oversee projects, similar to how it was done in the past.
more to come….
Campaign 2022 Flashback:
WHAT Every taxpayer dollar that comes out of your pocket must be responsibly spent. When project after project comes in over-budget, something is wrong.
As a former business owner, Trudy will make sure that project management is held to the same standard every good business owner abides by to avoid the cost over-runs.
Hot tip: I think we are over-budgeting to come in under-budget. This must stop. I will ask for a review.
Community-led senior, arts, accessibility, recreation, and sports groups are vital to a thriving city, and deserve thoughtful and responsible support from City Hall.
Accountability
Budgeting (City Budget)
What DID YOU DO, Trudy?
I tried.
I really tried.
I was appointed to Finance and Audit by the Mayor, but did not get elected to Chair. The Chair, Councillor Ramsay had a very different idea of what our Committee’s role was, so we basically just smiled and waved as the over $200 Million budget came to us, deferring most of the work to Council…which, because of Council majority, didn’t get the scrutiny it deserved…..so what I did do was:
DONE: finally got a resolution passed a few months ago to get a Lunch and Learn where staff would ask for what Council wants to know through KPI’s and metrics. This hasn’t happened yet. We can always ask for this information prior to budget time, if the new Council is serious about controlling the city budget.
DONE: have a current Notice of Motion asking for two additional lines to be added to the budget that would:
1. indicate the urgency of each individual item or initiative within its respective category, assessed on a scale of Low, Medium, or High priority; and
2. A column indicating the overall urgency of each item or initiative across the entire Capital Plan Budget, assessed on the same scale of Low, Medium, or High priority.
This will be discussed September 23rd, 2026.
NOT DONE: The City does not properly follow the entire Sustainable Finance Policy. We are being told that SFP 8.3 will be followed for the next budget.
Budgeting for maintancence is also not properly done—-the policy requires money to be budgeted wach year for facility maintanence and upgrades.
A very different Council majority will be needed to move this forward.
We are not yet a rich city.
Flashback to 2022:
Just like families and SMEs, the City has to live within it’s means by prioritizing the basics and keeping taxes low.
Council needs more than two meetings to discuss the budget.
Senior management should not have their salary increases tied to the wages they negotiate for unionised staff. This is a massive conflict of interest.
The too-frequent use of the Alternative Approval Process to purchase shows a lack of planning.
A thriving city plans carefully and transparently, and is accountable to spend and manage wisely.
Wildfire Resistance:
We have been really fortunate. But continue to Do nothing and we all pay the price.
DONE: Asked staff to arrange a Council tour of hazard areas. Mayor Yu and one or two members of Council attended.
TO DO: I will work with Mayor Yu to bring a notice of motion to next Council meeting, Sept 23. At Mayor Yu’s suggestion, I will add a section on seeking aCommunity Forest.
My NOM will be: That Council DIRECTS the City Manager and Director of Finance and IT Services to include a dedicated budget envelope for ecosystem-based wildfire risk reduction on City-owned parkland, green space, and utility corridors, and to:
use the existing Community Wildfire Resiliency Plan to guide treatments, with priority given to retaining mature deciduous species as interface buffers;
issue requests for proposals for mechanized and manual thinning, with annual treatment targets over the next five years; and
report back on options to cost-share eligible work between the General Fund and Water Utility Enterprise Fund where treatments protect municipal water infrastructure and other community assets.
Beautiful PG!
We have a gorgeous City, with much natural beauty within and surrounding it.
Riverfront:
DONE: worked with Councillor Tim Bennet and got a retuned report for Riverfront Vitality. Moved at the September 9th meeting that the report would be forwarded to the next Council and that staff would return with more detail. We need shops, hotels, restaraunts and of course, trails along the rivers. Spruce City Wildlife is already doing lots, and we have existing trails….but we ned more.
Ginters Greeen and Moore’s Meadow advocates have managed to educate us all on the value of more greenspace, and I am grateful. I live on 5 acres, and can easily take it for granted, so shout out to thos wonderful folks!
Trails and Getting There:
With so much natural beauty and hard-working people, much work is already done by volunteers. One major project that needs to move forward as funding allows is the Hart Connector Trail. The project needs to be shovel ready so we can apply for funding.
Attainable Homes
What did you DO, Trudy?
DONE: homes are being built, BUT, like other municipalities, cost of building has gone up
…..along with the permitting problems which contribute to costs as I have already mentioned…
NOT DONE:
-No reduction or reigning in of taxes by responsible, serious budgeting. High taxes increase cost of homes.
-attainability…we need to manage the city budget to lower tax growth. We need to keep and improve our advantage…but for that, residents have to elect serious candidates, not just simply cheerleaders or advocates who cannot say no to senior administration.
-we need neighbourhoods designed with winter in mind,
-with communities in mind,
-where people want to live
-rural areas need to maximise the infrastructure already there to reduce costs (a planner told me that is possible.) She is running for Council (Nicole Fraser) and is super smart about how to solve the sprawl issue)
-to build communities designed for safety
-to work with the province and SD57 on development in advance.
more to come….
Campaign 2022 Flashback:
Students, families and seniors all need homes, but the slow approval process to build homes has resulted in the city falling further and further behind what we need over the last five years.
A thriving city has the homes we need to attract and keep our residents.
City Hall needs to develop a reputation of having a service attitude, a “Can-do.”
See the housing needs study here:
Accountability and Transparancy:
The best transparancy is not a big communications team. It is great local media.
TRIED: Supported Mayor Yu’s initative to return to advertising in the paper of record, The Prince George Citizen, as required by the Community Charter. Initative failed, and more communication staff were hired.
TO DO: if given a Council majority that believes in tranparent and accountable government, I will work to return to advertising in the paper of record AND increase advertising in other local media. This will do more for accountability and transparancy than anything else.
Investigative journalism by our local media cannot happen if there is any uncertainty about recieving advertising revenues from the City.
Whistleblower and Code of Conduct Policies:
Current policies, which Mayor Yu, Councillor Skakun and I voted against, puts all power into City Manager’s hands. That is WRONG! That will be one of the first things to be changed should the voters elect a more accountable Council. There should be an external process for both. The current Code of conduct stifles the speech of elected officials.
Arts, Sports and Culture Spaces and my “Forever Plan”
Kopar Arena is an absolute GEM!
We destroy far too many of our old buildings. Older and Heritage Buildings help to build belonging and common history. Every time we tear down a building we replace it with some soul-less artitecture it tears a piece of our history down to the roots and we have to start again.
THIS NEEDS TO STOP!
You know there are wooden structures around the world that are over a thousand years old? The Kopar Arena is a baby, and it deserves to be part of a “forever plan.”
Sometimes there may be a reason, but the Kopar Arena is a simple and beautiful building which can serve for many more years. We can maintain and improve it without compromising the history of the building unnessesarily.
We can do better. We can build and maintain history and serve our modern community. Ever been to Europe…or anywhere else?
The Civic Core Plan
Is returning to Council September 23, and I wll encourage continued work, but with a plan for donor and commercial funding carrying the vast financial burden. We need more arts and cultural space, but the taxpayer does NOT need to be the primary funder.
Working with other levels of government and First Nations:
We neeed to honour the spirit and letter of our MOUs by sharing information and working together as Team PG. I am very disappointed to see that our MLA’s have not been invited to attend our UBCM Meetings with Ministers.
We all live here and must learn to work together. The Indigenous peoples within and around our city love their home. I can easily work on shared objectives while building on the trust Mayor Yu has built this term.
Our federal and provincial government elected officials may not have the same party affiliation as I do, but I can easily work with WHOEVER will help make PG a better place. It is our Canada. It is our BC, it is our City. Together is better.
Liveability
The City of Prince George is surrounded by beauty and filled with innovative and active people.
Let’s not try to create a cookie-cutter city, let’s use what we have to build upon our natural features like the rivers, cutbanks, and hills.
Let’s build upon what people are already doing to build a reputation as a thriving city with an active, engaged, and enabled population.
City connecting and traversing trails, sewer and water lines that we don’t notice, safe parks, sidewalks for kids to walk to school safely, Pidherny rec Site, developing the river-front, a walkable downtown, better transit, health care, family doctors, etc, are all things we should be working toward and improving.
Every vote at Council should reflect the goal of building a thriving city that builds upon our natural beauty and and our wonderful people.
Pidherny and Groups Like It Need Help, not Barriers
$28 Million Fortis Gas Windfall
Let’s NOT dip into the principal. Consider carefully how we spend the interest…and only on capital projects that improve liveability.
A windfall provides opportunity to do great things, but can also result in white elephants.
It will take careful planning and working with the various groups involved to use these funds to increase our City’s liveability in a sustainable way.
To build a thriving city we have to have the good management and facilities that attract the people who can help us toward that goal.
Accountability
Government is meant to serve.
Good government gets really good at serving.
Good government is willing to prune what is not producing to produce good fruit.
A vote for Trudy is a vote for accountability
Seniors
Seniors deserve our care and attention. They need appropriate housing that allows them to stay active and included.
A supporter gave me one idea that would work really well:
YOUR VOICE
on Oct 17-vote Trudy Klassen for Council
For Jobs, for Growth, For PG
1. Business and jobs first
Keep, start, and grow businesses. Champion resources and manufacturing. Make City Hall get to yes. Build regional partnerships.
2. To Restore the BC Rail corridor
Save the public railway. Add shortline freight, inland port, defence logistics, passenger rail, emergency backup, and a corridor trail.
3. Downtown and public safety
Coordinate services, don’t just spend more. Partner with First Nations. Make downtown safer and usable. Enforce bylaws fairly with Police.
4. Livable neighbourhoods
Support seniors, families, and young professionals. Keep taxes in check. Build for winter and safety. Protect civic buildings, wildfire lands, and parks.
5. Accountability and open government
Demand budget numbers. Improve Maintanence Planning.
Restore local notices in local media.