Tom Dyas

Kelowna Chamber of Commerce mayoral forum

Kelowna Chamber of Commerce, streamed by Castanet · Oct. 7, 2026 · Full video of this forum on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

1. Opening statement

   I made sure Council and City Hall had clear priorities, shared them with the public and we stuck to those priorities. To start, we restructured our finances. Council now reviews the budget three times a year before its final approval.

2. Opening statement

   When I was first elected, we said public safety would be our first priority and it has been. We hired 34 RCMP, 17 by-law, 18 firefighters and 13 more police staff. We deregionalized the RCMP.

3. The current council term ended with a lot of unfinished business. What project would you continue without change, and what's the first thing you would revisit?

   The first thing [...] that I would revisit is with regards to the two sites, the outreach centre which is downtown Kelowna and also the site which is located in Rutland with regards to the community service centre.

4. The current council term ended with a lot of unfinished business. What project would you continue without change, and what's the first thing you would revisit?

   Outside of that I would look at maintaining my pursuits with regards to compassionate mandatory type of care, also voluntary type of care and detox beds for the City of Kelowna. Kelowna does not have any detox beds at this particular point in time.

5. Name one budget line you would cut and one you would grow. What property tax increase is defensible for your first year?

   The budget line that I would like to look at cutting is if we're successful with regards to our advocacy is the cost that we spend around crime and safety within this community.

6. Name one budget line you would cut and one you would grow. What property tax increase is defensible for your first year?

   We're sitting in about 4.5%. It would vary, so it's tough for me to name exactly what that number is, but that is the goal we are heading towards.

7. Would you increase the number of police, bylaw or community safety officers, and how would you pay for it?

   The answer is yes. In the platform that I did release, [...] I would look at bringing more 75, 75 more individuals to assist with regards to our RCMP, our bylaw officers.

8. Question for him alone: You posted a negative attack ad. Why did you think it was necessary to attack Ron Cannan instead of defending your own record?

   It wasn't anything derogatory in a way that I was stating. It was just a reference of previous decisions that were made around the council table [...] it's for transparency.

9. What is the biggest housing policy issue in Kelowna, and how would you address it?

   On my platform, on my website, it does show that I would be lobbying the government with regards to the GST that they charge for new builds

10. What is the biggest housing policy issue in Kelowna, and how would you address it?

    What they have said to us continuously is that tax break that we put in place on rental projects for that 10-year period [...] has made the difference so those projects are able to pencil out.

11. What is the biggest housing policy issue in Kelowna, and how would you address it?

    I know we need to work towards home ownership and that's what we'll do the next four years

12. Within council's own authority, what one thing would you do differently on homelessness?

    So what we looked at doing with homelessness is we advocated for tiny homes.

13. Within council's own authority, what one thing would you do differently on homelessness?

    Out of those first 180 tranche of individuals who went through, we've had success with 125 of them either to move to supportive housing back home or to jobs.

14. What unfunded or delayed infrastructure project would you prioritize, and what would you defund or delay to pay for it?

    I truly believe that that Clement Crosstown Connector is something that truly needs to be done for our community. It is a pinch point within our community.

15. Question for him alone: Senior staff salaries rose 30 to 40% during your term. What do you say to people who think senior staff are enriching themselves?

    We are one of the fastest growing communities in the province and throughout the country. We need to attract good talent so that we manage that growth properly.

16. Would the city's arts and culture investment go up, go down, or stay the same under your administration?

    we needed to keep that theatre and refurbish the outside of that.

17. If you could fund one and only one new sport or recreation facility, what would it be, and why?

    I believe it would have to be the Apple Bowl if we're looking at one and only one.

18. Who are you voting for in the provincial election, and why won't you tell us?

    my responsibility is to be able to work alongside and advocate with whatever party that happens to be.

19. Tell us about your spiritual outlook and how it affects your policy.

    what I've tried to do over that last four-year period is to represent every person within the City of Kelowna regardless of their sexual orientation, regardless of their background or regardless of their religious belief.

20. Closing statement

    Put more RCMP and bylaw officers on the front line because I believe everyone deserves to feel safe. Keep advocating for treatment first approach like detox beds, voluntary care, mandatory compassionate care for people who are at risk to themselves or risk to our community.

21. Closing statement

    Build more homes with lower development charges and a real path to ownership for young families. Push Ottawa to expand the GST relief on new builds so buying a home is within reach.