Platform

Alternative housing options, including co-op housing, leaseholds, community land trusts, and co-housing, can provide needed opportunities for people with diverse housing needs. Making these options happen requires a clear understanding of the barriers. If elected, I will work to build relationships with non-profit housing providers already working in this space, explore opportunities, and find a path forward for Langford.

Langford’s newly refreshed OCP emphasizes urban and multi-modal infill. This means directing growth around transportation options while keeping services and amenities close by. Mobility choice and mixed-use spaces can provide greater opportunities for affordability and quality of life.

Langford has many essentials available within our city borders; however, we continue to be a community within the broader region. Regional transportation initiatives, including active transportation and higher-order transit, need to be a priority if we are going to make the best use of our roads and tackle everyday traffic. This can reduce transportation stress, provide more affordable options, and make Langford a more desirable place to visit while supporting the local economy.

Langford’s Active Transportation Plan highlighted how Highway #1 poses a significant barrier to connectivity and safe travel between north and south Langford. An overpass is proposed at Florence Lake Rd., providing an opportunity to improve this connection. This is a long-term but high priority project that will need to be actioned early in order to pursue partnership opportunities with the province and take advantage of infrastructure funding streams from upper levels of government.

Last term, sidewalk infill was advanced by more than a decade, and significant improvements were made to protected bike lanes and multi-use paths. There is still important work to do to get our students to school safely and provide more opportunities for our youth to travel independently.

Moving forward with Phases 2 and 3 of the Latoria Active Transportation Project, continuing to invest in sidewalk infill, supporting the Walking School Bus program, and advancing the Active Transportation Plan will help ensure that our youngest residents are safe and supported.

There is no one-size-fits-all solution to communities, and that includes transportation. Langford remains a community where using a private vehicle is a good and necessary choice for many. At the same time, in a diverse community, we need more options so that we are not leaving our non-driving neighbours behind.

Transit and active transportation need to be safe and viable options for those who cannot drive. For those willing and able to make some trips without a vehicle, having more options can mean fewer cars on the road, less pressure on our transportation network, and more opportunities to save money and improve health.

The West Shore Parks and Recreation Master Plan made recommendations for new indoor and outdoor facilities, including an aquatic centre, two ice sheets, multipurpose court/fieldhouse space, a fitness centre, rectangular fields, baseball fields, multi-sport courts, a destination splash park, and a walking/running track.

The cost of building, operating, and maintaining facilities is significant, so efficiencies should be found wherever possible. Comparisons for doubling existing ice sheets and expanding existing fitness centre facilities should be explored first, and priority projects should be made shovel-ready as soon as possible to take advantage of grant opportunities and shared funding.

A West Shore approach can create opportunities for greater cost efficiency and consistent delivery of community recreation needs.

As Langford grows and densifies, so does the need for walkable access to third spaces like libraries. Langford City Centre is planned as the centre for population growth, with the greatest allowable density, and will therefore need a properly sized library branch where people can connect with library resources and meet their neighbours.

Similarly, on the north side of the highway, a smaller neighbourhood branch similar to Goudy and Langford Heritage would help meet the need for community spaces.

Both projects require working with and supporting the partnership with the Greater Victoria Public Library to identify adequate spaces and funding for future projects.

The Association of Neighbourhood Houses (ANHBC) defines a neighbourhood house as “vibrant non-profit hubs where people can connect, grow, learn, and access essential programs and services. Each one is a welcoming “community living room” — a place where everyone belongs.” A recent feasibility study (2024) identified a clear need for a neighbourhood house in the west shore to address the need for youth spaces and programs, support for families with children, senior services and programs, food access and security, and support for newcomers.

A newly formed society is actively looking for space to start small parent drop-in programs and grow toward a larger permanent location. Supporting this grassroots work can help create more opportunities for people to connect within their community.

Evening hours can be an ideal time to seek out spaces and programs for connection. Creating more opportunities for evening public events and exploring a possible summer night market in the city centre could provide spaces to unwind and connect with neighbours.

The dark hours of winter can be a particularly challenging time to venture out. A post-holiday “Keep the Lights On” light festival could explore a partnership with the West Shore Chamber of Commerce and local residents to extend holiday light displays into January, creating opportunities for walking tours and other ways to visit and meet the community.

The 2026 FIFA World Cup celebrations highlighted a clear desire to celebrate the diverse cultures in Langford. An ongoing focus on cultural community connection should be incorporated into the yearly delivery of community events, music festivals, art installations, and community celebrations.

Lessons learned from the FIFA viewing event can also be applied to future sport-viewing opportunities, bringing neighbours together to celebrate their shared support for sports teams.

A placemaking strategy for Langford is now underway but will still need to be adopted and implemented. This strategy would identify placemaking opportunities in the community, a funding strategy, and a guide for implementation.

Community groups should be able to use this strategy to focus their creative energy and create a sense of place through initiatives such as art installations, little free libraries, gathering places, and visual storytelling.

Future initiatives could also include a wayfinding strategy that makes community assets and programs more accessible through tools and design that make it easier to find what you are looking for and where you need to go.

A community safety plan works with local interest holders to develop a multi-year plan to reduce risk, vulnerability, and harm. It acknowledges that community safety and wellbeing are shared responsibilities between police, multiple levels of government, and agencies in the community.

A community safety plan is a common practice in many communities and can take an evidence-based approach to understanding what it means to feel safe and be safe in a community, while identifying how resources can best be directed.

In February 2026, Langford partnered with the South Island Primary Care Society to open the new Goldstream Medical Clinic on Bryn Maur Rd. This clinic has been successfully filled with 10 doctors and has seen 12,500 residents attached to a physician.

Further partnerships can build on this model so that more residents can be connected to primary care in locations that are accessible.

In 2025, Langford purchased 6 acres of urban park in the densely populated urban core of Langford’s City Centre. This park is currently transitioning from a manufactured home park to a city park over five years.

If elected, I will commit to upholding the current support for tenants, as well as the work needed in 2030 to transition to the envisioned urban oasis. This park not only contributes much-needed greenspace, but also contributes to park diversity, recognizing that a diverse community needs options, particularly when it comes to access to outdoor spaces.

With the first community garden in Langford underway at Porcher Park, there is still more work to do to support the Official Community Plan’s goal of community gardens in every neighbourhood.

Community gardens are an excellent way to connect with neighbours who face challenges accessing space to grow a garden, while providing equitable access to healthy food and supporting food security during challenging economic times.

A short-term lens on a budget can provide immediate positive feedback, but it can also set the future up to cover shortfalls. Every budget should be considered with comparisons between short-term trade-offs and the potential to save over the long term, all while keeping affordability a priority.

Budgets that do not consider long-term stability are more susceptible to unforeseen risks, which can result in more volatile changes in the amount of future tax requisition needed to support city functions.

Tax increases over the past four years have been significant as we have had to make difficult choices to shift fiscal management toward greater stability and financial resilience for the city, but those steep jumps are not our trajectory moving forward. Our 5-Year Financial Plan shows a much steadier, predictable path ahead with significantly lower increases.

Langford is unique in that it shares lands with eight different First Nations. Relationship building takes time, and while consultation is important and should be a priority, it should not be rushed for colonial governance reasons.

In Langford, reconciliation has been integrated into our master planning process, including the Arts and Culture Strategy and the Economic Development Strategy. Going forward, it will be important to ensure that initiatives remain a priority, are funded, and are rooted in consultation.

Whenever it works for the Nation, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) should be explored to solidify those relationships over time through a shared understanding of priorities and needs.

Langford’s new Asset Management Plan is an important step in preparing Langford for the future. However, there is still a gap when we consider the green infrastructure that works alongside our engineering infrastructure to contribute to a functioning and livable city.

A green asset management plan would consider natural assets such as urban forests, water bodies, and riparian areas alongside green infrastructure such as green roofs, rain gardens, and permeable surfaces. This would provide a long-term plan to understand gaps, make improvements, and take care of what we already have.

Part of Langford’s Official Community Plan includes encouraging intergenerational learning opportunities. While youth and senior voices are often missed in community decision-making, a Senior-Youth Advisory Panel could provide an opportunity to bring intergenerational experiences into community discussions and provide a platform and voice for two important generations.

Potential partnerships with the Sooke School District and the Juan de Fuca Seniors Centre could assess interest and address possible barriers to participation.

A forum that bridges generational divides could help us understand diverse perspectives, provide leadership opportunities, and bring important perspectives to city decisions.

Currently, residents can make an application for information that is not already publicly available through an FOI request with a $10 fee. Depending on the scope of work, additional fees may be required.

While fees help the city manage resources and ensure requests are connected with the intention of the process, there is still the possibility that repeat requests may be made, leading to less efficient use of resources.

If responses were publicly posted once requests were completed, the information could be made available to everyone. Publishing full responses would also reduce the fracturing of public information once it becomes available.

Master planning has been a longstanding practice in Langford, although it has not been as thorough as it needed to be until recent years.

Long-term visioning in transportation, active transportation, arts and culture, parks and trails, recreation, economic development, climate, urban forest management, and fire service all look to the future of Langford in a way that honours the diverse needs of the community.

Plans were created with expert and professional advice and guided by Langford staff with deep local knowledge and community connection. Public consultation was also at the heart of every initiative through surveys, public meetings and workshops, as well as outreach to harder-to-access groups and organizations in the community.

Plans provide opportunities for cost-effective solutions and agility in responding to funding opportunities. However, in order to be leveraged effectively, they need to remain integral to the operations of Langford and be honoured as a collective vision for the future.