Keep Kelowna
moving forward.
We got back to basics. We made progress. Now it’s time to keep building.
Four years ago, Kelowna was under real pressure.
Crime and disorder were affecting neighbourhoods and businesses. Our rental vacancy rate was below one per cent. Major transportation projects had been talked about for years without moving forward. Growth was putting more pressure on roads, services and infrastructure.
We changed direction.
We invested in frontline public safety. We accelerated housing and infrastructure. We started building long-delayed roads, recreation facilities and neighbourhood projects. We strengthened financial accountability at City Hall. And we fought for Kelowna with the provincial and federal governments when the solutions were outside municipal control.
There has been real progress.
But I know residents need to feel more of that progress in their daily lives.
The next four years are about building on the work we started: safer streets, more treatment, homes people can afford to own, roads that keep people moving, more good jobs and stronger neighbourhoods across Kelowna.
Here is my plan:
A Treatment First Approach
We built real pathways off the street. Now we need the treatment system to match them.
Over the last four years, Kelowna established 180 tiny homes. More than 125 people have already moved from those sites into permanent or supportive housing.
Those pathways matter. But we need to keep expanding access to treatment and recovery.
People who want recovery need treatment when they are ready for it. Families dealing with severe addiction and mental illness need more options. And neighbourhoods should not be expected to absorb the impacts of poorly planned provincial services.
Over the next four years, I will:
Push to end the current model at the Outreach Urban Health site downtown, while demanding expanded detox, treatment and recovery capacity in Kelowna.
Fight for mandatory compassionate care in the Okanagan, including using available capacity at the Okanagan Correctional Centre for people who pose a serious danger to themselves or others.
Secure a regional treatment and recovery centre based on the Red Fish model, providing longer-term voluntary treatment and recovery support here in the Okanagan.
Push the Province to restructure how the social service office in Rutland operates, including stronger security, and regular consultation with nearby residents and businesses.
Demand stronger neighbourhood protections around provincially funded health and social-service facilities, including security plans, faster cleanup, protection of entrances and public spaces, and clear accountability when problems persist.
Compassion means giving people a real path toward recovery while protecting the community around them.
Stay tuned for platform updates
Keep building.
Kelowna has come a long way in four years.
We have strengthened frontline services. We are building infrastructure that sat on plans for decades. More homes are being built. New parks and recreation facilities are underway. City finances are more transparent and accountable.
There is still a lot more work ahead.
Kelowna cannot afford to go backwards. We cannot afford to stop investing in public safety, infrastructure, housing and the services a growing city needs.
The next four years are about building on the progress we have made and finishing the work we started.
Safer streets. More treatment. Homes people can own. Roads that keep us moving. More jobs. Stronger neighbourhoods. Better value for taxpayers.
Let’s keep building a safer, stronger and more prosperous Kelowna — for all of us.