Victoria’s 2026 municipal election campaign officially gets underway Tuesday, with candidates able to file their nomination papers for mayor and council as voters prepare to decide who will lead the city for the next four years. The nomination period opens at 9 a.m. Sept 1 and closes at 4 p.m. Sept. 11. General Voting Day is Oct. 17, when Victoria voters will elect a mayor, eight councillors, three Capital Regional District directors and two Greater Victoria School District 61 trustees. A non-binding question will also appear on the ballot asking voters whether they support Victoria and Saanich becoming one municipality. With the nomination period opening, the mayoral race and council contests are beginning to take shape. Mayoral candidates focus on trust, housing and public safety One of the candidates seeking to replace incumbent Mayor Marianne Alto is Bruce McGuigan, who says his campaign will focus on rebuilding public trust in City Hall, improving housing affordability and addressing homelessness and public safety. McGuigan said he wants residents involved earlier and more meaningfully in municipal decision-making. “We can be completely open in the budgetary process and we can take the risk of being open to comment and criticism on the decisions we make about how we spend money,” he said. He also criticized what he described as a lack of transparency around city spending and called for policies to be evaluated based on whether they work, what they cost and whether improvements last. On housing, McGuigan said the city should use public land for nonprofit housing, community land trusts, affordable rentals and family housing, while protecting existing affordable rental homes. He also called for a broader response to homelessness that includes housing, mental health care, addiction treatment and recovery, while taking a tougher approach to violence, harassment, weapons and drug dealing. Current Mayor Marianne Alto is seeking a second term, pointing to housing approvals, community safety initiatives, investments in recreation and infrastructure, and expanded shelter capacity as some of her administration’s accomplishments. “Being the mayor of Victoria for the last four years has been the honour of a lifetime, but there’s more work to do,” Alto said in a statement to CTV News. If re-elected, Alto said her priorities would include protecting renters, increasing housing affordability, investing in community well-being while managing the city’s budget responsibly and addressing public safety through prevention, intervention and response. Council candidates make affordability a key issue Jerry Garcia, who is running for council and CRD director, is also making governance, affordability and public safety central to his campaign. Garcia, an engineer and former executive and project manager, said he wants to improve the city’s economic prospects, attract higher-paying jobs and make City Hall more efficient and transparent. He has also proposed publicly tracking major city initiatives through a scorecard so residents can see whether projects are delivering results. “I think one of our biggest is that we need to solve, though, is the homelessness issue that we have, that affects public safety,” he said. He said his experience working on strata councils, in engineering and project management has helped prepare him for the responsibilities of municipal government. The other major theme running through the campaign is affordability. Coun. Stephen Hammond, who is seeking re-election, said the city has been spending too much and that property tax increases have become unsustainable. Hammond said he voted against the last three budgets because of the size of the increases and wants future councils to take a more disciplined approach to spending. He also wants the city to reconsider aspects of its Official Community Plan, arguing that some development decisions were based on population forecasts that are now outdated. Coun. Jeremy Caradonna also acknowledged the pressure taxes are putting on residents, but said Victoria cannot stop investing in infrastructure. He said a major driver of tax increases has been policing and argued the city needs to find a balance between maintaining services and limiting pressure on taxpayers. Caradonna’s campaign also includes a pledge to establish a municipal waste utility that would provide consistent garbage, recycling and compost services across residential buildings and some institutions. He is also seeking another term as a CRD director and said he wants to help advance regional transit projects, including potential rail connections between Victoria and the West Shore. Housing, homelessness and public services Coun. Dave Thompson said he would continue pushing for more housing, particularly affordable rental housing, while advocating for greater provincial and federal investment. Thompson said homelessness and housing remain the biggest issues he hears about from residents and argued that the city needs a stronger health and housing response to the crisis. He also wants the city to speed up the approval of affordable housing and other housing projects. Coun. Matt Dell is campaigning on affordability through a different lens, emphasizing parks, recreation, arts and culture. Dell said young families need access to affordable ways to enjoy the city and wants to see more free music, community events and accessible recreation. His key campaign promise is to begin serious planning for a new downtown public library. Dell said he does not expect the library to be built within the next four years, but wants a public consultation process, a clear vision and a viable plan in place by the end of the next term. Climate change and confidence in city hall Coun. Susan Kim is making climate change a central part of her re-election campaign. Kim said Victoria needs to prepare more aggressively for extreme weather, including expanding the urban tree canopy, improving climate resilience in older rental buildings and ensuring community centres can serve as emergency cooling and response centres. She also wants the province to give municipalities more flexibility to pursue progressive taxation. Kim is running with Victoria for All, which she described as a new progressive socialist municipal party whose platform was developed through member consultation. Coun. Marg Gardiner is also seeking another term and says restoring public confidence in municipal government will be her central focus. Gardiner said residents need a stronger voice at City Hall and called for greater transparency, public input and scrutiny of city spending. She also criticized the city’s response to homelessness and street disorder and said she intends to continue advocating for residents who feel their concerns have not been adequately reflected in council decisions. Incumbents defend their records For candidates who have already served on council, the campaign is also an opportunity to defend their records. Caradonna highlighted housing approvals, the relocation of people sheltering in parks, investments in parks and arts and culture, road paving and the advancement of the Crystal Pool replacement. Thompson pointed to housing as the biggest accomplishment of the current council, while acknowledging that rising costs and uncertainty around government spending present challenges. Dell pointed to parks, recreation, arts and culture, as well as the Crystal Pool project, as accomplishments he is particularly proud of. Challengers call for a different approach For challengers, the argument is that Victoria needs a different approach to governance. McGuigan said he wants to restore meaningful public consultation and make City Hall more accessible to residents. Despite their differences, the candidates interviewed by CTV News repeatedly returned to several of the same issues: housing, homelessness, public safety, taxes and the relationship between City Hall and residents. The debate over how to address those issues is now moving from council chambers to the campaign trail. Nomination deadline and voting day Potential mayoral and council candidates can obtain nomination packages from the City of Victoria’s Legislative Services office or online through the city’s election website. Completed packages must be submitted by 4 p.m. Sept. 11, along with the required $100 nomination deposit. The final list of candidates will be confirmed after the nomination period closes. Victoria voters will cast their ballots Oct. 17.
