British Columbians voted for change after different politicians were elected in all areas of the province. .Many of the municipal candidates who succeeded ran on affordability, housing, and public safety, with British Columbia facing high inflation, a housing crisis, and increasing crime rates. .Large municipalities such as Victoria and Kamloops saw incumbents choose not to run again. Incumbents in other cities, including Vancouver and Surrey, lost their jobs to candidates focused on bringing about change. .Vancouver Mayor Kennedy Stewart lost his re-election bid to candidate Ken Sim. .Sim was elected as the new Vancouver mayor with about 50% of the vote, with the rest being distributed to 14 other candidates. .Sim promised to hire 100 police officers and 100 mental health nurses to tackle crime in the city. He said he would accelerate permitting to address the lack of housing. .Stewart and Sim faced off in 2018, when the former won by 957 votes. .Stewart said he loves Vancouver and believes “it should be a city for all of us.”.“That’s what our campaign has been about,” he said in a tweet. .“I’m so proud of what we’ve accomplished — and it simply wouldn’t have been possible without our supporters, volunteers, and donors.”.Surrey city councillor Brenda Locke defeated incumbent mayor Doug McCallum. .The margin of victory for Locke was less than 1,000 votes. .This race was dominated by issues with transit and infrastructure. Locke spoke out against Surrey’s transition from the RCMP to a municipal police force, which she promised to reverse if elected. .Surrey began its transition to the Surrey Police Service in 2018, when city council approved a motion to replace the RCMP. .Eight people were vying to replace Victoria Mayor Lisa Helps, after she said she would not be seeking reelection. .Victoria city councillor Marianne Alto won with 56% of votes cast. .A key issue in the race was how candidates would vote on a plan to rezone single-family properties to allow for multi-family additions. Alto said she would reconsider the plan as it exists and might revise it. .She said it was “humbling to have been chosen your mayor.” .“I thank my fellow candidates for your support of our democratic system,” she said. .“I'm thrilled to start our work together—we have so much to do.”.Victoria city councillor Ben Isitt, who called for Remembrance Day ceremonies to be defunded, lost his re-election bid. .Former Kelowna Chamber of Commerce president Tom Dyas beat incumbent mayor Colin Basran. .Dyas ran on a platform focused on safety, pointing to the city having one of the highest crime rates in Canada in 2021. Dyas said he would partner more existing officers with nurses, establish a community policing office at the University of British Columbia Okanagan, and create a citizens’ patrol. .He said he would not take people’s support for granted. .“Together, we will work together to make Kelowna safer, secure, and more affordable for everyone,” he said. .“I will not let you down.”.Kamloops elected a new mayor, with about one-third of voters choosing business executive Reid Hamer-Jackson. .Kamloops Mayor Ken Christian said he would not be seeking reelection. Hamer-Jackson and former city councillors Ray Dhaliwal, Dieter Dudy, Sadie Hunter and Arjun Singh said they would run to replace Christian. .Like most candidates, Hamer-Jackson made safety the top priority in his campaign, aiming to reduce harm reduction sites to eliminate crime. He promised more rehabilitation and recovery facilities.
