By Transition Salt Spring Elections & Candidates, Local News – October 6, 2026 on the Gulf Islands Driftwood. See the original post here.
In the last local election, less than one in three Salt Spring registered electors (31.9 per cent) voted. Many factors contribute to low voter turnout, but one of them is people not feeling like they know enough about their choices to make an informed decision.
To help voters make informed choices in the Oct. 17 local election, Transition Salt Spring (TSS), in partnership with the Salt Spring Island Farmland Trust, sent out Community Resiliency candidate questionnaires. Candidates were asked for their stances on and plans to address key issues such as emergency preparedness, local food production, engagement with First Nations and affordable housing.
All 13 candidates running for Capital Regional District (CRD) Salt Spring Electoral Area director, Local Community Commission (LCC) commissioner or Islands Trust trustee completed the questionnaires. Their responses, viewable either per question or per candidate, appear very well thought out and should be enlightening to voters.
The basis for the questions asked in the Community Resiliency questionnaires is a set of 10 guiding principles developed by TSS. The principles emerged from what 70 community leaders shared last year at the Common Ground Summit. TSS included the guiding principles in its submission this spring for an updated Salt Spring Island Official Community Plan (OCP).
The two soon-to-be-elected Islands Trust trustees will be steering the OCP process as part of the Local Trust Committee. One of the questions asked to trustee candidates in the questionnaire was: “Will you ensure the revised Salt Spring Official Community Plan (OCP) directs most new residential zoning capacity into Ganges and other existing serviced villages, rather than continuing to expand into rural and forested areas?”
A separate set of questions was directed to candidates for CRD Electoral Area director and LCC commissioner. Because climate and economic resilience depend on having enough nurses, paramedics, firefighters, teachers, care aides and other workers who can actually afford to live here, one of the questions was about affordable housing: “Will you support the formation of a CRD-funded service to create more affordable and workforce housing options?”
Another direct community resilience measure is local food production, since it reduces dependence on global supply chains that are increasingly disrupted by climate, political and economic events. Candidates for CRD director and LCC commissioner were also asked:
“Will you support increasing CRD economic development funding and programming specifically toward local food production and agricultural products?”
TSS is tracking the commitments candidates are making in the questionnaires, forums and elsewhere, and will be following up with the electees to hold them accountable to their commitments made during the campaign.
In the meantime, TSS, in its non-partisan effort to boost voter turnout, is offering free rides to the polls on Oct. 17 for anyone who cannot otherwise get there. The polling locations on Final Voting Day are Fulford Hall, the Salt Spring Island Public Library, and Meaden Hall at the Legion.
See the candidates’ responses at transitionsaltspring.com/election-2026 and contact info@transitionsaltspring.com if you have questions or need a ride to the polls on Oct. 17.