A tough night for incumbents
Call them winds of change or changing tides, but it was clear that voters wanted something different across the province – and incumbency was no longer the advantage it typically has been in British Columbia. B.C. voters replaced prominent mayors across the political spectrum, producing substantial turnover without a common province-wide ideological direction. Prior to this election, incumbent mayors had a nearly 80 per cent chance of being re-elected. This was not the case in 2026. Vancouver elected Green councillor Pete Fry as mayor as well as a predominantly progressive council, while both Surrey and Langford returned to office right-of-centre mayors who had been defeated in 2022.
Looking across the province, election outcomes suggest considerable appetite for change and dissatisfaction with the status quo. Local records, credible alternatives, and the organization of slates offer a more useful explanation of the results than any single leftward or rightward shift. It was also apparent, particularly in larger cities, that “big tent” coalition politics (where a slate of candidates spanned a wide range of values and political beliefs under one party banner) was not a significant draw for voters. This may be worrisome for the BC Conservatives, whose party includes a range of candidates, from centrists to social conservatives. The victories of some high-profile incumbents — like Mike Hurley, Leonard Krog, and Marianne Alto — should not be ignored, but this municipal election featured so much change elsewhere that incumbent provincial officials are likely feeling nervous ahead of this weekend’s provincial election.
Key races & regional results
Metro Vancouver & Fraser Valley
Vancouver: Mayor-elect Pete Fry received 98,494 votes. Fry subsequently attended a David Eby press conference on October 19, generating speculation about whether he will use his new position as a high-profile (and winning) progressive to assist the down-in-the-polls Premier ahead of the October 24 election.
Council’s ten seats went to four Greens, four COPE candidates, OneCity’s Lucy Maloney, and ABC’s Mike Klassen. The result gives progressive parties substantial governing strength, but none has a majority. Their ability to agree on housing, public safety, and budgets will determine their effectiveness as a collective.
Surrey: Doug McCallum defeated incumbent Brenda Locke and returns for a fifth term as Surrey mayor, with a Safe Surrey Coalition council majority. He received roughly 32 per cent of the mayoral vote, which was sufficient in a fragmented field. His platform’s four-year property-tax freeze and proposed SkyTrain extension to Newton will receive scrutiny right off the bat. During his victory speech, he named Councillor Mandeep Singh Nagra as his deputy mayor, and this was loudly supported by the crowd.
Richmond & Coquitlam: Rob Howard succeeded Malcolm Brodie as mayor in Richmond, ending a quarter-century mayoralty. Howard had been endorsed by Brodie and was in the race against two sitting councillors. Craig Hodge succeeded Richard Stewart as mayor in Coquitlam. These were both open-seat transitions with retiring mayors, distinct from the incumbent defeats elsewhere. Both incoming administrations will shape the next phase of growth and infrastructure investment in large municipalities.
Maple Ridge: Jerry Kok defeated Mayor Dan Ruimy. Voters also rejected all three Recreation Ready borrowing questions, covering projects with a combined estimated cost of $393 million. The incoming council must now decide whether to scrap, reduce, or redesign those projects.
Vancouver Island
Victoria & Saanich: Marianne Alto retained Victoria’s mayoralty with 13,505 votes, ahead of Bruce McGuigan’s 10,531. Saanich elected Rob Sharma with 17,157 votes, and he and five council candidates from the Save Our Saanich slate will form a majority. Victoria’s result offers continuity at the top, with a mix of new and old faces on council, while Saanich enters the term with a brand new governing coalition. The municipalities diverged sharply on amalgamation, which was also on the ballot. Victoria voted 61.7 per cent Yes and Saanich voted 68.0 per cent No in the non-binding public-opinion votes.
Langford: Stew Young defeated Scott Goodmanson as Langford mayor, reversing the outcome of 2022. Only one incumbent councillor, Colby Harder, returned. It is interesting to note that none of the incumbents who ran this year lost any votes compared to their 2022 showings. They all increased over their previous results, but only one was able to secure re-election. Voter turnout surged in opposition to the incumbents, with nearly twice as many voters showing up to the polls compared to 2022, ousting nearly the entire council and returning power to the mayor who had been defeated in the previous election.
North & Interior
Northern B.C. & the Cariboo: Prince George elected Garth Frizzell over Simon Yu as mayor as well as his fellow councillor Kyle Sampson, and returned only three incumbent councillors. Quesnel elected former BC Liberal MLA Coralee Oakes with more than 80 percent of the vote. Houston retained Shane Brienen. Prince Rupert’s Herb Pond and Masset’s Barry Pages were acclaimed.
Kamloops: Mike O’Reilly garnered 13,235 votes, while incumbent Reid Hamer-Jackson finished fourth with 3,548. This is unsurprising after years of controversy, code of conduct breeches, and lawsuits throughout Hamer-Jackson’s one term. Only three incumbent councillors were returned. The scale of council turnover means the transition will involve rebuilding working relationships as well as replacing the famously controversial mayor.
Okanagan: Kelowna returned Tom Dyas, who led Ron Cannan by 969 votes. This was a tight race with all candidates focused on public safety. Penticton elected former BC Liberal MLA Dan Ashton as mayor over incumbent Julius Bloomfield, while West Kelowna’s Stephen Johnston was acclaimed, and Matt Taylor became Okanagan Falls’ first elected mayor.
Kootenays: Cranbrook elected former BC Liberal MLA Tom Shypitka; Fernie elected Harshan Ramadass; and Kimberley chose Matt “Powder” Mosteller. Radium Hot Springs’ Cris Leonard led incumbent Mike Gray by just seven votes. With multiple close races we will be watching to see what recounts are called.
Noteworthy results
The scale of Vancouver’s council reversal: The ABC Party was reduced to a single councillor, resulting in a council that looks very different compared to the one elected in 2022. Incumbent councillor Mike Klassen will be facing a very new experience as the only member on council who is not on the left of the political spectrum.
The comebacks: McCallum in Surrey and Young in Langford both recovered mayoralties they lost four years ago. McCallum made history as he has returned for a third time, now beginning his fifth term. Young’s return was not a surprise, but his slate of councillors is more ideologically diverse than his previous council so it will be interesting to watch how they navigate working together.
Different answers on public investment: Vancouver approved all three capital-borrowing questions, totalling $790 million. The wording of the questions, as is often the case with referendums, was leading. Meanwhile, Maple Ridge rejected all three recreation borrowing proposals.
Increase in women elected: Women now make up 38.5 per cent of B.C.s municipal councils, up from 37.9 per cent last election.
A new municipal government: Newly created municipality Okanagan Falls elected its first- ever mayor and council. The community of 2,300 people will get their first taste of being their own municipality.
The closest mayoral results: Lytton finished election night with a tie for the mayor’s seat at 45 votes each. Meanwhile, a difference of 7 votes elected the Mayor of Radium Hot Springs.