NWTU - 2026 Election Power Project
On August 25th, 2026, members of the New West Tenants Union voted on five questions they wanted everyone running in the 2026 municipal election to answer:
- Would you hire more staff to enforce rental building maintenance?
- Would you fight the province to repeal the "Above-Guideline Rent Increase" laws?
- Would you support affordable housing initiatives in New West?
- Would you fight for the right for all tenants to own pets in their apartments?
- Would you work with renters to address gaps in our rental building maintenance by-laws?
These questions were sent to every candidate on September 14th. Of the 15 candidates running for either mayor or city council, eight answered and seven did not.
Their answers, alongside their voting records, platforms, and histories were presented to a panel of 20 renters to grade like a report card from A+ to F.
Those grades were then averaged per-question and per-party. Below are the results:
Here is the break-down by individual candidate.
If you want to actually read for yourself what each candidate said, their full answers are all documented here:
You can also download the full report card brochure here:
How Was This Grading Done?
On Tuesday September 29th, any renter in New West who had participated in the tenants union in some way or been on our mailing list for at least one year was invited to grade candidates.
These graders were presented with the following materials:
- The answers each of the candidates submitted to the 5 questions
- A presentation on the public platforms of each party and candidate
- An extensive document detailing how each of the candidate currently on council has voted and acted on city council over the last four years
That last document was meticulously compiled by our volunteer research team over the last half-year by watching and summarizing every single city council meeting in which housing, development, zoning, or rental issues were discussed.
You can find all those documents and presentations in the Documentation section at the end of this page.
How Were Candidates Informed of the Questions?
The questions were sent by e-mail to every candidate on September 14th, 2026†. Originally they were told they had a deadline to submit answers by Wednesday September 23rd.
Then, on Monday September 21st, 30 members of the tenants union appeared at the City Council meeting at Queensborough Community Center and gave a speech asking all candidates to participate. Members of both parties were sitting on council to hear the speech.
At that time, they were given an extension until end of day Monday September 28th to submit. They were then reminded by e-mail again.
Speech delivered to City Council by the New West Tenants Union on September 21st. Thirty members were in the audience.
† With the exception of Independent candidate Geoff Homel. Apologies to Geoff Homel. They were sent the questions on September 25th when we became aware of his candidacy. Thankfully they were still able to submit a full set of answers to the questions.
Why Was This Done?
In just the last couple years, renters have organized and won some incredible victories at city hall. These include a new tenant assistance policy that guarantees any renter displaced by redevelopment a brand new apartment with no rent increase, a new cooling by-law that takes the first steps to make landlords responsible for cooling apartment buildings, and back in 2019, a renoviction ban that basically stopped bad-faith renovation evictions in New Westminster.
Members of the tenants union wanted to ensure these not only that these victories would be secure during the next council term, but set an agenda for the next four years to expand those victories into more secure, well-maintained housing where pet owners aren't forced to give up their animals just to have somewhere to live.
What's Next?
Renters make up almost 50% of the population of New Westminster. As a show of renter power, volunteers across the city are distributing these report cards in their rental buildings and communities ahead of the election.
If you'd like to do the same in your building contact us at nwtenantsunion@gmail.com or leave us a voicemail at 778-358-2680 and we can deliver printed report card brochures. Just let us know how many you need.
If you'd like to donate to the union to help cover the printing costs, you can do so here: https://ko-fi.com/nwtenantsunion.
Full Documentation
For full transparency, any documents produced or presented as part of this project are linked in full below.
Final Report Card
The final report card, released October 3rd, in the form of a brochure.
Full Candidate Responses to Survey Questions
Responses for all candidates on the survey questions received by the deadline at the end of day on Monday September 28th.
City Council Research Presentations and Reports
Our research team watched every single city council meeting in the last 4 years in which housing or rental issues are discussed. Their findings are available in this summary presentation or as the full 36-page report they completed.
Candidates and Platform Research
Additionally, the team also combed through candidate's platforms for wherever housing or rental rights are mentioned. They also documented some basic information on each candidate.
Grading Rubric
This is the rubric graders from our membership were asked to use when grading candidate responses at our grading event on Tuesday September 29th.
NWTU Presentation at City Council
This is the speech read by a Tenants Union volunteer at the City Council meeting on Monday September 21st at Queensborough Community Center with about 30 NWTU members in the audience.
The speech was recorded and can be viewed here:
Speech delivered to City Council by the New West Tenants Union on September 21st. Thirty members were in the audience.
Questions for Candidates
This was the survey sent to each candidate (questions chosen and voted upon by our members at our August 25th, 2026 Public Meeting) that were sent to each candidate on September 14th†. Their answers are what will be graded by members for the report card.
† With the exception of Independent candidate Geoff Homel. Apologies to Geoff Homel. They were sent the questions on September 25th when we became aware of his candidacy.
Project and Team Explanation
Here is a document handed out at our public meetings to explain the purpose of this project: to use the election NOT as a a means to get one party elected or another, but as a vehicle to build renter power.
Full Project Timeline
- Tuesday March 31st - At a public meeting, members of the tenants union vote to participate in the election to build power and keep renters rights on the city's agenda
- Research and Mobilization teams are formed
- Tuesday August 25th - At a public meeting, members vote on the final five questions they wish to pose to all candidates
- September 14th - Questions are sent to all candidates
- September 21st - Members attend the City Council meeting en-masse and give a speech about the project and ask all parties to participate
- September 28th - Deadline for candidate answers
- September 29th - Members grade candidates
- October 3rd - Report card published
How Can I Participate?
Right now, you can...
- Register to distribute the final printed report card in your building by either door-knocking, sliding it in mailboxes, leaving it laundry or common rooms, putting it on a billboard, or whatever else you feel comfortable with
To register to pass out the final report card, just contact us at nwtenantsunion@gmail.com or leave us a voicemail at 778-358-2680.
Sponsorship Notice
We are an officially registered Third-Party Sponsor with Elections BC, meaning any money spent on distributing this report card will be reported to the government and available as public record.
This information is authorized by the New Westminster Tenants Union, Registered sponsor under LECFA: nwtenantsunion@gmail.com