Saanich thrives on participative, democratic leadership, not top-down political machinery. On October 17, vote for independent voices.
Join the CoalitionWe are a grassroots coalition of Saanich residents, community builders, and local advocates. We are your neighbours.
Whether we are advocating for safer streets and protected active transit along corridors like Shelbourne and McKenzie, organizing local youth sports, or running small businesses, we come from diverse backgrounds and hold a wide variety of viewpoints on municipal issues. But we are united by one core belief: Saanich thrives on participative, democratic leadership, not top-down political machinery.
We launched the Break the Slate campaign because we grew concerned about a fundamental shift happening in our municipal elections.
Local government in British Columbia was designed to be strictly non-partisan. It is the one level of government where our representatives are supposed to answer only to the community—not to a party whip, not to a shared campaign war chest, and not to a pre-packaged platform.
Recently, the rise of coordinated elector organizations (slates) in Saanich has threatened that independence. When a group of candidates shares a brand, pools their finances, and agrees on their priorities behind closed doors, they function as a voting bloc. When that happens, the public debate is over before the public hearing even begins.
We believe that complex local issues—from housing density to neighbourhood planning and road safety—cannot be solved with a one-size-fits-all playbook. They require councillors who will come to the table with an open mind, genuinely listen to the residents, and evaluate every single proposal on its own unique merits.
Our goal is simple: to educate voters about the reality of elector organizations and to protect the independent voices that make Saanich strong. We aren't asking you to vote for a specific person. We are simply asking you to vote for the individual, not the machine.
In BC local elections, a slate (legally known as an 'elector organization' or civic political party) is a group of candidates who pool their campaign money, share a brand, and run on a coordinated platform.
While some groups try to avoid the word 'slate' by calling themselves a 'team' or an 'elector organization,' the result is exactly the same: a voting bloc. When candidates share a campaign machine and pre-agree on their policies, they cannot come to public hearings with genuinely open minds. Saanich needs independent voices, not civic political parties.
Click below to uncover the facts about how civic political parties operate in our local elections.
Fact: In BC, elector organizations are legally defined structures, often referred to as "civic political parties." According to Elections BC, an elector organization pools campaign financing, endorses a specific group of candidates, and lists its name beside those candidates on the ballot. If candidates share a brand, share a campaign budget, and run on a unified platform, they are functioning as a slate—regardless of the marketing words used.
Fact: Elector organizations are formed specifically because candidates have already agreed to a shared set of policy priorities. While they may not have a formal "party whip," the expectation is clear: they will vote in alignment with the platform they campaigned on together. This undermines the purpose of public hearings, where councillors are supposed to evaluate complex, neighbourhood-specific issues with an open mind before making a decision.
Fact: Voting to protect independent local government is a deeply principled choice. Municipal politics is the only level of government in BC free from the strict control of political parties. Refusing to support a slate ensures that your local representatives remain directly accountable to Saanich residents, rather than to a centralized campaign organization or shared platform.
Fact: It is normal for independent candidates to sometimes share similar views. However, when an elector organization legally registers to fund and endorse a coordinated group of candidates (often including a mayor and a majority of council seats), the goal is to secure a voting bloc. A council functions best when 8 independent voices and a mayor rigorously debate the unique merits of every issue, rather than defaulting to a pre-arranged consensus.
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Grassroots campaigns rely on the support of community members. Help us spread the word before October 17.
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