Saturday February 28, 2026 | LANGFORD, BC
by Mary P Brooke | Island Social Trends
Langford residents today had a casual opportunity to mingle with City of Langford council members, at a drop-in in town centre.
The three-hour event was held at The Outpost Board Game Cafe where families carried on with board game activities.
Politicians chatted with residents about current issues that impact the City during Budget 2026 season. The mood was upbeat, relaxed and otherwise supportive of positive engagement.
Members of council who attended today were Mayor Scott Goodmanson and Councillors Kimberley Guiry, Mark Morley, Keith Yacucha and Mary Wagner.
There was a kids activity area, plus coffee and snacks.
Conversations covered a range of topics, dependent on who showed up with their concerns in mind.
Budget season:
This is Budget 2026 season, with council over a few more upcoming meetings continuing to review and deliberate various proposed tax increases for this year: 11%, 9%, 6%, or 3%.
Unlike in previous years where the budget was reviewed line by line, this year an overview approach is being taken, one city councillor told Island Social Trends today.
That approach opens the possibility of some areas not hearing council deliberation or encouraging more public participation. This year’s approach is apparently to shorten the time spent by council in this intensive work.
As well, while the open house is relaxed and is probably informative for elected officials, but is probably hit-and-miss in terms of topics discussed.
Pre-election season:
In the four-year municipal election cycle (across BC), the next election is coming up on October 17, 2026.
The pre-campaign period begins July 20, 2026 and the full campaign period officially begins on September 19, 2026 but according to Elections BC the election period began on January 1, 2026.
Candidate nominations will be open September 1 to 11, 2026.
Local elections are province-wide:
Local elections in BC are province-wide for a range of positions:
- mayors and municipal councillors
- regional district directors
- school boards trustees
- specified parks boards
- local community commissions, and
- the Islands Trust.
Voter input:
Voters who wish to make their views known to current elected officials can contact the municipal office in the area where they live. It’s up to candidate campaign teams to otherwise get the word out.
The Langford Budget 2026 Online Survey is open to end of day, March 4. Background and link.
===== RELATED:
- Langford budget-season public open house Sat Feb 28 (February 27, 2026)
- How much will 2026 property tax go up in Langford? (February 19, 2026)
- NEWS SECTIONS: LANGFORD | BUDGET 2026 | EVENTS