Coquitlam voters will go to the polls on Oct. 15 to elect a new city council in the 2022 municipal election.
Voters who turn out to cast a ballot will be electing a mayor, eight councillors and four trustees with School District 43's (SD43) board of education.
Following the Sept. 9 nomination deadline, a total of 32 people are hoping to earn your vote during their respective campaigns.
For many, civic politics doesn't have the excitement and the drama of provincial and federal politics, but those who pay attention to local news will see that municipal politicians shape the way the city looks and feels.
From the type of housing, to recreation facilities, policing, traffic, garbage pick up — even dog parks — and more, elected officials hold a lot of sway.
You can vote on your top issue in our poll below.
Coquitlam has had an eventful four years since the last civic election, which included a global pandemic that shut facilities and turned meetings into virtual live-stream events or presentations.
Housing is a continuing hot topic as the city is expected to grow by the thousands in the years to come.
However, 2020, in particular, was a historical year for construction for Coquitlam as it saw a record $690-million in completed projects — a 38 per cent uptick from 2019 at $614 million.
Those 135 new development bids resulted in nearly 35,400 approved homes, about 6,600 of which were rental units.
As well, Coquitlam managed to complete 14 major parks and facilities projects last year totalling $160 million in city investment, including a partnership with the YMCA. A new one-of-a-kind parkour course was also recently installed at Cottonwood Park in Burquitlam.
Coquitlam's school board also able to secure $135-million in funds for a new high school in Burke Mountain with construction set to begin next year.
As for upcoming projects, the city will be working on the following:
- Potentially adding 5,000 homes via three proposed projects to house 12,000 residents
- Completing 164 affordable housing units at Robert Nicklin Place via federal government funding
- Implementing several new multi-use pathways for transit accessibility
However, the last four years also haven't been easy for Coquitlam residents.
Some recent issues include:
- Housing affordability and food costs
- Ongoing traffic and pedestrian concerns
- Bears accessing garbage for unnatural food attractants
- Homelessness and shootings
While we don't know what this year's civic election will bring, we know there are likely many issues on voters' minds.
The following is a poll that will assist us in our coverage in the coming weeks:
