B.C. Votes 2022: Key issues and races to watch in Saturday's municipal elections

On Saturday, Oct. 15, voters across B.C. will go to the polls to choose new mayors, councils, regional district trustees, school boards and other local government officials.

Though local elections don't tend to get the same level of attention — or voter participation — as provincial and federal ones, their results have implications for issues that matter to a wide range of people, from funding for transit to property taxes to climate preparedness.

This year, though, two clear themes have emerged as provincewide issues: The ongoing affordability and housing shortage and the issue of public safety, which in debates is often wrapped up in discussions around homelessness, mental health, addictions and the drug poisoning crisis.

While incumbent mayors and councillors are attempting to run on their records, many challengers are campaigning on frustration with the status quo and promises to shake things up at city hall should they get elected. 

With one day to go before polls open from 8 a.m. to 8 pm, here's a chance to catch up on the issues and some of the top races across the province.

Vancouver and Surrey

As B.C.'s two largest municipalities, Vancouver and Surrey play an outsized role in shaping local government policy, particularly for other communities in the Lower Mainland.

In Vancouver, incumbent mayoral candidate Kennedy Stewart is facing off against Ken Sim, who lost the 2018 election by just 957 votes. Also in the race is former councillor Colleen Hardwick along with a total of 15 candidates for mayor and 59 council hopefuls across 10 different parties:

Surrey, meanwhile, is a five-way race with incumbent mayoral candidate Doug McCallum hoping to fend off councillor Brenda Locke, a former MLA and MPs Gordie Hogg and Sukh Dhaliwal and MLA Jinny Sims. That race is being dominated by big promises on transit and public infrastructure, as well as the city's ongoing transition from RCMP to a municipal police force.

Metro Vancouver 

If you thought 957 votes determining the mayor of Vancouver was close, consider the case of West Vancouver, which, in 2018, saw councillor Mary-Ann Booth defeat former mayor Mark Sager by just 21 votes. Both are running again, as are two other candidates.

In Burnaby, Mayor Mike Hurley has been acclaimed, but there is a crowded council race with 27 people running for eight positions, spread out across three parties.

Richmond's mayoral incumbent Malcolm Brodie is seeking another term in office after being elected mayor of B.C.'s fourth-largest city in a 2001 byelection followed by wins in 2002, 2005, 2008, 2014 and 2018, making him the longest-serving mayor in the city's history. In an unusual move, though, Brodie has also endorsed eight candidates for council in three different parties, including several incumbents.

Brodie is being challenged for the mayor's job by independent Wei Ping andl John Roston, who is attached to the RITE Richmond party.

There are six parties in the Richmond race, including Richmond RISE, which was formed by former B.C. solicitor general Kash Heed and former councillor Derek Dang.

Tri-Cities

Two former councillors — Meghan Lahti and Steve Milani  — are running for mayor in Port Moody, where a key issue is the development of a transit hub on a nine-hectare piece of land.

In Coquitlam, incumbent Richard Stewart is running against two newcomers, Adel Gamar and Mark Mahovlich, while In Port Coquitlam, Mayor Brad West has been acclaimed to another term in office because nobody contested the seat.

The Fraser Valley 

A familiar name could return to B.C. politics as former B.C. Liberal cabinet minister Rich Coleman seeks the mayor's job in Langley Township. He is one of four people running for the position in what is shaping up as the most high-profile mayor's race in B.C.'s Fraser Valley.

Elsewhere in the region, Abbotsford will be getting a new mayor after Henry Braun opted not to run again, telling CBC, "Four years is a long time when you're 72 years old." 

As B.C.'s fifth-largest municipality, Abbotsford is still recovering from major flooding that devastated the region in late 2021, with cost estimates for upgrades to dikes and other infrastructure being measured in the billions.

And in Chilliwack, Ken Popove, who narrowly won the race for mayor in 2018, is running against Ian Carmichael. On council, 12 people are running for six positions, including five incumbents.

Victoria, Saanich and Vancouver Island

Few places in B.C. have felt the housing crisis more acutely than Vancouver Island and the Capital Regional District in and around Victoria.

In Victoria, two-term mayor Lisa Helps is not running again, and the race to replace her is crowded: Eight people in total, including sitting councillors Stephen Andrew and Marianne Alto. 

A key issue in the race is how mayoral and council candidates would vote on the Missing Middle Housing Initiative, a controversial plan to rezone all single-family properties to allow for multi-family add-ons, something the next set of city leaders will decide on early in their term.

Meanwhile, in Vancouver Island's largest municipality, Fred Haynes is running as the incumbent for mayor of the District of Saanich against former three-term councillor Dean Murdock. Aside from housing, road safety and the possibility of amalgamating with other municipalities are top of mind.

And in Langford, Stew Young is once again running for mayor, having served in the position ever since 1993, a year after the city was incorporated.

But some voters are tiring of Young's leadership and the race this time is more heated — prompting the longtime mayor to form the Community First Langford slate, which includes four incumbents and two newcomers seeking six council positions.

Young is being challenged by independent Scott Goodmanson in the race for mayor, while the Community First Langford slate is being challenged by five newcomers running for council under the banner Langford Now.

Kelowna and Kamloops

In Kelowna, incumbent Colin Basran is seeking a third term and is facing the same challenger as 2018, former Chamber of Commerce president Tom Dyas. Dyas is hoping anger over public safety concerns in the city will benefit his campaign, as does businessman David Habib, who runs a downtown nightclub in the city.

The race for mayor in Kamloops opened up earlier this year when incumbent Ken Christian announced he would not be seeking office again. Five people are running to replace him, including four former councillors: Ray Dhaliwal, Dieter Dudy, Sadie Hunter and Arjun Singh, as well as businessman Reid Hamer-Jackson. Like Kelowna, much of the campaign has been focused on public safety.

Lytton and Merritt

Elsewhere in B.C.'s Interior, the focus in Lytton and Merritt is safety of a different sort: Safety from climate disaster. Both are in the process of rebuilding following catastrophic weather events that destroyed much of their communities and left hundreds of people homeless. In both places, mayoral candidates are focused on the process of rebuilding and seeking help to prevent future disasters.

Prince George and northern B.C.

A six-way race for mayor in Prince George will lead a night of change across cities in central and northern B.C., where few incumbents have chosen to run again.

With Lyn Hall not running again, the campaign is between two-term councillor Terri McConnachie, lawyer Roy Stewart, as well as Simon Yu, Adam Hyatt, Lisa Mitchell and Christopher Wood with most of the campaign focused on the city's approach to homelessness as well as cost overruns at city hall.

The sitting mayors of Fort St. John, Dawson Creek, Terrace and Prince Rupert have all opted out of running again which will mean a leadership change across the region with only imcumbent mayor Bob Simpson of Quesnel seeking re-election.