Affordability & Renters

We need more affordable rental housing, non-market housing, co-ops, senior housing, and stronger policies to protect renters. To do this, we must accelerate construction of non-market housing, build thousands of new rental units, and pursue the partnerships required to get affordable homes built in Victoria.

• Support an additional 2000 affordable non-market homes - the same amount Council approved from 2022-2026.
• Increase funding to affordable housing projects by allocating more revenue and development fees to the City's “Affordable Housing Reserve Fund”.
• Seek new partnerships with non-profit housing agencies, religious organizations, the CRD, the Province and other bodies to build new affordable housing projects.
• Waive all city fees and development charges for affordable housing projects, and support the “Rapid Deployment of Affordable Housing” policy, which accelerates affordable housing projects through the development department.
• Explore additional policy solutions to incentivize affordable housing for seniors, including to build seniors rental housing on-top of expanded seniors' centers.
• Use city funds to acquire land for the purpose of building affordable housing, in partnership with BC Housing and non-profit housing providers.
• Build another 500+ units of supportive and shelter housing for people experiencing homelessness - the same amount approved in 2022-2026.
• Strengthen protections for renters, especially during the development process, to reduce cases of renoviction, unfair rent increases and poor quality rental units.

Adding Housing Supply

To tackle the housing crisis, we need to ensure our talented builders, architects and trades people are able to get projects approved and completed in Victoria. New housing projects need to add to a community - bringing people, vibrancy and good design. To do this, we must have housing strategies based around walkable communities, good transit, amenities and great public spaces.

• Increase density in urban villages and corridors, including more residential units in the Downtown core, and new buildings near transit/services.
• Bring additional density and mixed use development to Victoria's neighbourhoods, with the goal of creating new small villages, walkable communities and providing more diverse housing options throughout Victoria.
• Commit to reducing wait times for building permits, including a comprehensive review of the building permit process to seek efficiencies and reduce unnecessary or overlapping procedures.
• Create additional flexibility for parking and transportation-demand-management, so that parking requirements don't restrict housing.
• Make it easier for homeowners to provide small-scale housing, basement suites and backyard homes by creating a Small-Scale Housing Ambassador position and developing pre-approved plans.
• Protect heritage conservation areas, Old Town and buildings with important character or community value.

• Crystal Pool: Finish Crystal Pool on-time and on-budget by 2030, which will ensure Victoria has access to a modern, accessible, seismically sound recreation facility.
• Build a new downtown public library: Victoria needs a welcoming, modernized downtown library. The city owns the existing library building, which could provide equity for a new library, potentially built in partnership with a new construction project, or an affordable housing project. I am committed to beginning this work next term.
• Preserve all existing green space and strategically acquire new park space, particularly in areas experiencing faster development.
• Build more all-season turf sports fields for year-round play
• Invest in new playgrounds, sports courts and skateboard/scooter parks and add more picnic-tables and covered space to city parks, so they can be used year-round.
• Build a large splash pad/water park in Fernwood/Oaklands, to provide an exciting place for youth and families to go on hot summer days.
• Work with the local First Nations to complete Peter Pollen Park.
• Improve public access to the Gorge Waterway, and build another swim dock at Bamfield or Arbutus Park.
• Explore having an outdoor pool or an outdoor city-operated hot-tub/sauna location on the Gorge Waterway.
• Build more off-leash and protected dog parks throughout the city, including space for dogs in the downtown core, and a dedicated “small dog park” to create safe space for smaller dogs

Accessible, Safe, Green Communities

• Redouble efforts to create complete communities and pedestrian-focused urban villages – so everyone from children to seniors has everything they need within a safe 15-minute walk, ride or roll.
• Work with Community Associations to address traffic and speed issues on residential streets, including increased investment in crosswalks, walk signals and speed bumps.
• Accelerate implementation of the 2020 City of Victoria “Accessibility Framework” to ensure Victoria is welcoming and accessible for people with all types of accessibility needs.
• Expand Victoria's tree canopy to 40% (up from 30%) and create new incentives to plant more trees, preserve green space and build new parks.
• Create a tree-planting incentive program where the city provides free trees to local residents and community associations.
• Create a new Food Systems Strategy to incentivize local food production, composting, and local food education.
• Join Oak Bay's Deer-Sterilization project to help compassionately reduce the urban deer population.

Celebrating Diversity

• Continue the work of the Welcoming City Advisory Committee and implement the “Dream in Color: Welcoming City Strategy” to ensure that people from all backgrounds have a say in the future of our city.
• Support the 2SLGBTQIA community and make sure Victoria is a safe and inclusive city for everyone.
• Create new services and supports for immigrants and refugees, to help them transition into our community.
• Provide increased funding for multicultural festivals and events in the city.

Music City

• Make Symphony Splash a permanent annual event by creating a new dedicated funding stream for large/signature festivals.
• Work to build publicly accessible or publicly owned music rehearsal spaces, possibly inside community centers or new civic buildings (e.g. a new Library).
• Commit to annual increases to Victoria's “Festival Projects Grant”, to ensure all festivals can cover increasing costs.
• Support the Hermann's Jazz Building, which the City acquired in 2024, to be a thriving local music venue for the long-term.
• Partner with the creative industry to bring more live-music events to the city, including expanding the Eventide Concert Series, hosting more large festivals at Royal Athletic Park, and more events in the Inner Harbour.
• Support the all-ages music scene by installing PA systems in community centres and underwriting blanket-insurance policies for all-ages events.
• Support the “Good Night Out Program” and other measures to address late-night safety, harassment and sexual violence in Victoria's music and late-night venues.

Arts & Culture

• Work with non-profit organizations and local arts groups to acquire a new arts venue for the arts community, which should include artist space, performance space and public space.
• Begin work on the new Victoria Art Gallery, as part of the Capital Iron development .
• Increase funding for murals and public art throughout the city.
• Encourage the board of the Royal Theatre and McPherson Theatre Society to ensure these venues are available for local artists and events.
• Find permanent space for the 80+ visual artists currently located in the Rockslide Gallery.
• Expand the “My Great Neighbourhood Grant” program to support ongoing/annual arts events.

Reducing emissions and waste

• Expand Victoria's garbage and compost pick-up services to all multi-unit buildings.
• Implement a building decarbonization and green-retrofit policy to reduce emissions in Victoria's existing buildings.
• Leverage provincial CleanBC funding to increase grants to install heat pumps, with a goal of getting all homes and buildings in Victoria off oil + gas for heating.
• Push for mandatory glass and Styrofoam recycling for all apartments and homes across the city.
• Explore new partnerships with regional governments and non-profits to turn waste into economic opportunities.
• Work collaboratively with the business community and restaurants to find new ways to reduce waste (e.g. takeout containers).

Active transportation

Expand clean and active transportation options and public transit - so everyone can get around Victoria easily and at reasonable cost.

• Implement policies to achieve the CleanBC goal of reducing light-duty vehicle trips by 25% by 2030 by promoting e-bikes, bike share, transit, and creating an electric scooter share program.
• Expand EV charging on public property and require EV chargers as part of new developments.
• Support electric buses and create 24/7 bus lanes for BC Transit's proposed RapidBus routes, including a rapid bus lane through the downtown core to James Bay.
• Expand Victoria's AAA bike and roll network so every resident can travel safely throughout the city.
• Continue the Victoria U-PASS Program (free transit for 13-18) and seek ways to expand free public transit to seniors.
• Support changes to Victoria's “On Street Parking” policies to ensure public street parking is used efficiently, including reform of the residential parking-only system, and that street parking contains adequate space for visitor parking, commercial deliveries and accessible parking.

Supporting Local Business

• Develop a new economic strategy for Victoria, in collaboration with local businesses, so all Council decisions consider the growth of Victoria's downtown and local economy.
• Continue to reduce the business/residential tax ratio from 3.7-1, down to 3-1, to reduce the tax burden on our local businesses.
• Continue to encourage housing development in the downtown core to meet our community's housing needs while bringing more residents—and more customers for local businesses—downtown.
• Expand the OUR DWTN program to increase investment in downtown street cleaning, pressure washing, flower baskets, bylaw enforcement and investment in arts & events that make downtown the place everyone wants to be.
• Support the priorities of the Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Victoria Business Association and the South Island Prosperity Partnership, including to provide funding for the “Facade Improvement Fund” and the “Security and Vandalism Repair Grants.”
• Support the goals of the Hotel Development Working Group to attract more hotel development to the downtown core.

Community Safety

• Work with Victoria Police Department to ensure they have the resources they need, while also investing in upstream services and non-policing teams to support mental health and addiction.
• Support the VicPD and downtown police teams to tackle criminal behaviour that harms the small business community.
• Expand investment into alternative response teams, including the IMCRT, ACT Team, PACT Team, so police aren't doing mental health work.
• Push for a regional police force, so other municipalities support the regional downtown core.
• Advocate for the regionalization of social services for the unhoused community, so people that need services are not required to travel downtown for food, health care and shelter.
• Invest in downtown safety by implementing the goals of the City's “Community Safety and Wellbeing Plan,” including to establish another indoor safe-consumption site elsewhere in the CRD to reduce drug use on the street; push other municipalities to develop supportive and shelter housing; support and expand social programs that get people off the street, and increases services to the business community to ensure downtown is clean and safe.

Supporting Those In Need

• Support harm reduction services and medical services for those struggling with substance use.
• Work with Canadian Mental Health Association BC to expand CRCL (Crisis Response, Community Led) to provide immediate mental health support to those in need.
• Prioritize the construction of additional supportive housing, shelter housing, and recovery housing, to help get people off the street and into a stable environment.
• Work with local service providers - Our Place, Pacifica, Beacon Community Services, Threshold Housing, Portland Hotel Society, SOLID and others - to provide funding for the programs and services that are needed to support the unhoused community.

• Set clear goals and priorities for staff at the beginning of the council term and publicly report on key-performance indicators and results.
• Expand opportunities for public input at council meetings, including providing more opportunities for residents and non-profit organizations to address council.
• Require all city departments to seek efficiencies as part of the annual budget cycle.
• Work hard to ensure every tax dollar is used effectively and transparently, and keep annual tax increases as low as possible.

• Provide increased funding for Indigenous art in the city, including more murals, cultural events and music.
• Support the Reconciliation Corridor Initiative to work with the Nations to build passenger rail from Victoria to the West Shore.
• Continue the Reconciliation Fund voluntary property tax contribution system.
• Expand the Reconciliation Dialogue Series, to provide opportunities for Indigenous and non-Indigenous people to come together
• Support name changes for streets, parks and cultural sites, to help restore Lekwungen language and culture.
• Support Indigenous-led development in the region by working closely their staff and elected representatives.