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These 7 council candidates are on the ballot on Wed. July 9 and Sat. July 12
These 7 council candidates are on the ballot on Wed. July 9 and Sat. July 12
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These 7 council candidates are on the ballot on Wed. July 9 and Sat. July 12
The district of Sooke has seven candidates vying to take over its vacant council seat for the final 15-odd months of the term. The seat was vacated last fall when Dana Lajeunesse was elected as MLA in one of the closest and most consequential races in BC. The seat chose to leave his seat empty until after the federal election, in case that results left more seats empty. Key recent issues for Sooke include major infrastructure projects, roads and traffic, a new Official Community Plan, growth, and cost of living.
Advance voting: Wed. July 2 & Wed. July 9 at council chambers
Special voting for assisted living & complex care residents: Thu. July 3 at Ayre Manor
General election: Sat. July 12 at Ed Milne school
Find more byelection voting info here.
The candidates are listed in reverse alphabetical order (since we did alphabetical order the last time we covered the byelection). Each bio below summarizes the candidate's main stated policies very briefly in two sentences. You can learn more fully about their platforms and backgrounds at the campaign links below each summary.
Bio: Strongwind is a small business owner who has worked as an executive director for the Songhees Nation and as a provincial ministry advisor. She also founded a Sixties Scoop survivor advocacy nonprofit.
Policies: Her platform calls for more road safety infrastructure and public transit, and for protecting waterways and green spaces. She wants to set up a satellite campus for education; an organization for attracting business; an oceanfront visitor centre; an official voice at council for T’Sooke First Nation; and a mobile crisis-response unit.
Campaign website: https://katherinestrongwind.com/endorsements/
Bio: Ritts is on several city committees and nature-related local boards and worked in marketing for an urban planning firm. She was active in a campaign last year to prevent a Murray Rd. Park from being rezoned for a proposed health and wellness centre.
Policies: She says she's running to support and implement the things that Sooke residents have already communicated in the Official Community Plan, Transportation and Parks Master Plans, and other public processes. Her vision for “Keeping it Sooke!” involves limiting sprawl and protecting green spaces and advancing a new Town Centre Plan.
Campaign website: https://helenritts.ca/
Bio: Price is a recently retired nurse and healthcare operations director who still does healthcare consulting. She is a past president of the BC Care Providers Association board.
Policies: She wants to add medical services and retail, and to limit property taxes.
Learn more: Sooke News Mirror profile
Bio: McKeown is a Sooke resident of 40 years who has worked in construction and project management, in which he has a Royal Roads degree.
Policies: He wants to collaborate more with other governments, to have more communication with the public, and to address rising taxes and traffic.
Learn more: Sooke News Mirror profile
Bio: Haldane is a homebuilding contractor and 2008-2014 Sooke councillor who ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2014 and did not regain his council seat in 2018 and 2022. He also ran for MLA last year with BC United.
Policies: He wants to advocate to restore a Chinook salmon smolt project, support property owners’ interests in the upcoming OCP, and pursue a secondary access road for Sunriver. He wants to lower property taxes by cutting some spending, reducing time to get permits, and developing commercial buildings to grow tax revenue.
Campaign website: https://electherbhaldane.ca/
Bio: Dickinson-Wilde is an East Sooke small business owner, web developer, and karate instructor. He is a longtime volunteer for Green parties and has stood as a Green candidate for MLA and MP in Delta ridings.
Policies: He wants to finalize the OCP and to do more long-term planning via referendums at general election times. He also wants to reduce traffic by bringing more businesses to the core, by making school buses free, and by reopening Fishy waterpark to reduce parents driving to Colwood / Langford.
Campaign website: https://nick4sooke.ca/
Bio: Burns is a startup worker who moved to Sooke from Langford as a new homeowner in 2022. He has a background in retail operations and wants to advocate for young professionals and families.
Policies: Burns aims to bring more jobs to Sooke and diversify its economy, including by removing some limits on development and big box stores. He wants to advance the Throup Connector, to improve relations with the province, and to forecast and spread tax increases out.
Campaign Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Shaun-Burns-for-Sooke-City-Council/61577190236227/
Long wait to fill seat
With this July election, a replacement for Dana Lajeunesse will not be chosen until nearly nine months after the BC election that elevated him to MLA. This delay was mainly due to the uncertain timing of the federal election, in which Mayor Maja Tait was a candidate. The district was wary of having to hold a second byelection if Tait's seat also needed to be filled.
Ultimately, Tait lost to Stephanie McLean, who surged in on a nationwide Liberal wave, and only Lajeunesse's seat remained empty. The council set this July 12 date shortly after the federal result, on staff recommendation. A referendum on infrastructure spending has also been under consideration, but the district is now mainly targeting the 2026 municipal election for its timing.
