A few kind words on the port, a few kind words for Herb and away he goes...

The Premier made a pit stop in Prince Rupert as the final week of the election campaign continues leading up to election day on May 12th.

Premier Gordon Campbell was in town to offer up some support for Liberal candidate and former Mayor Herb Pond, perhaps signifying that the Liberals believe that they have a solid opportunity to regain the seat on the North Coast, once held by Bill Belsey.

While Pond supporters carried signs suggesting that voters "Ponder the Possibilities", the Premier spoke of the port and its importance to the North coast and the province, that while stopping at Fairview Terminals for one of those ever popular photo ops framed by the towering cranes operated by Maher Terminals.

And while the current economic troubles have reduced the anticipated impact of the port thus far, the Premier called for a longer term vision owing to the ports strategic location and proximity to the Asian markets.

However, if locals had been hoping for a surprise announcement that the Liberals were going to provide additional funding for phase two, three and on they would be disappointed. No funding discussions were outlined, nor was there any discussion on the importance of the Rupert port compared to the Delta project which has seen a surge of provincial money in the last year as that container terminal expands.

While he talked much of potential expansion and anticipated container shipment increases, the Premier did not provide for a timetable of the provinces participation in that process, nor did he give a dollar amount as to what kind of contribution that the province might make to phase two.

His praise for candidate Pond complete, as was his day in Prince Rupert it was time to hop on that campaign bus for trips later today to Terrace and Smithers, two ridings that the Liberals also would like to see marked in their column next Tuesday.

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Update: Coverage of the Premiers' Podunkian pitstop included:

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Globe and Mail-- Campbell touts container port recovery

Globe and Mail-- Campbell takes aim at NDP in north

Vancouver Sun-- Port buoys Liberal hopes in B.C.'s northwest

CBC News-- Job creation tops agendas of B.C. Liberals and NDP

Northern View-- Premier brings campaign to the North Coast