kelownaelections.ca

Tom Dyas

Mayor, ran for re-election

Background

Thomas J. "Tom" Dyas has served as Mayor of Kelowna since November 7, 2022, when he defeated then-mayor Colin Basran by more than 10,000 votes.

Before entering elected office, Dyas was a chef (executive sous chef at Expo '86 and executive chef at Delta Hotels Whistler) and, since 1987, owner of TD Benefits, an insurance and financial-services firm. He served two terms as president of the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce, ending in 2018, and led Kelowna's bid for the 2020 Memorial Cup, which was cancelled because of COVID-19.

His community involvement has included coaching local soccer and serving on the boards of Kelowna Minor Hockey, the Okanagan College Advisory board, and the Child Advocacy Centre. As mayor, his roles have included Regional District of Central Okanagan board director, chair of the Airport Advisory Committee, chair of the Mayor's Task Force on Crime Reduction, and chair of the Mayor's Task Force on Performing Arts.

2026 Campaign

Dyas announced his re-election bid on July 28, 2026, under the banner "Re-Elect Tom Dyas as Mayor — Together, let's keep building a safer and stronger Kelowna."

At his announcement he pointed to transportation investment (citing roughly $90 million for 2026), public safety, housing, roads, and recreation, and noted that Kelowna's ranking on the Crime Severity Index had fallen from second-highest among comparable metros in 2022 to ninth-highest in 2025, while acknowledging a resident survey in which more than half of respondents said quality of life had declined.

In an October 4, 2026 One Foot Off Center podcast appearance (Castanet), Dyas argued that four years of delivery at City Hall should outweigh his challenger's decades in politics, framing the race against Ron Cannan as a choice between keeping the city moving and putting on the brakes. "I am not a career politician. I came into this office, I saw what needed to be done and I got to work on it," he said. He cited a total municipal tax increase of 7.19 per cent from 2022 to 2026 against a 16.5 per cent rise in the consumer price index, and $171 million in city-secured grants — figures as stated by Dyas and not independently verified.

Grant funding — variance note

Dyas has cited different totals for grant funding secured during his term across his public statements — over $140 million in an Oct. 8 interview, against $171 million in earlier platform materials — without a clear time window for either figure. Both amounts are candidate-stated; neither has been independently reconciled against city grant records.

Campaign site: https://www.tomdyas.com/

Social media: X @MayorTomDyas; Facebook facebook.com/mayortomdyas; Instagram @mayortomdyas; LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/tomdyas. His campaign's financial agent is Onn Chong. (tomdyas.com, "Authorized by the Official Agent for the Tom Dyas Campaign.")

2026 Platform

Dyas's platform, "Let's keep building a safer, stronger, and more prosperous Kelowna," centres on public safety, housing, homelessness, infrastructure, fiscal management, and the economy.

  • Public safety: he cites the addition of 33 RCMP officers, 17 bylaw officers, and 18 firefighters, and states that Kelowna's crime rate has fallen three years in a row after having been the highest of any major Canadian city four years prior.
  • Housing: he points to accelerated approvals and fast-track infill programs, while saying affordability "remains a serious challenge."
  • Homelessness: he cites the tiny-home model (180 transitional homes, more than 125 people moved into housing or treatment) and additional treatment, recovery, and supportive-housing options.
  • Infrastructure: he lists the KLO Road bridge, Glenmore Road, Burtch Road, Hollywood Road, and Clement Crosstown Connector projects, plus a new Parkinson Recreation Centre and activity centres.
  • Fiscal: "service-based budgeting"; internal audits increased from one per year to four, and financial reporting expanded from annual to quarterly.
  • Economy: the Community Task Force on Economic Prosperity; YLW airport expansion; and "Canada's first UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy."

Budget & Record in Office (2022–2026)

Kelowna's 2026 budget was the first to surpass $1 billion (approximately $1.05 billion), with a 4.37% tax increase the city described as among the lowest in B.C.; it added four RCMP officers, four firefighters, and two bylaw officers. Dyas described the increase as "amazing" relative to peer cities, and said: "Part of our job within this community is to make this community a better place by that capital delivery."

In 2026, Dyas gave the council's four-year record an "A" grade on crime, safety, and housing, and was interviewed for CBC's "This is Kelowna" podcast in an episode titled "Why Tom Dyas doesn't fight culture wars."

Notable Items

Bullying accusation (April 2025)

In April 2025, Councillor Ron Cannan publicly accused Mayor Dyas of bullying during a council meeting, saying: "To me it felt like you're bullying me, telling me that I don't understand the policy." The exchange followed Dyas telling Cannan to "stand down on engaging with the media" ahead of a buy-Canadian procurement motion; Cannan subsequently cancelled a scheduled Global News interview. Dyas responded: "Councillors... are free to share their opinions with the media. That's democracy... I am not anyone's boss... I do expect that we follow proper process."

Supervised-consumption-site stance (September 2026)

On September 1, 2026, Dyas posted on X that "There's nothing safe about a site that creates disorder for the surrounding community," and that Kelowna City Council is asking Health Canada to deny the 2027 renewal of the federal authorization for the supervised consumption site at Outreach Urban Health and prioritize treatment. In a subsequent CBC interview, Dyas said a related letter was sent "on behalf of" council.

Drug-decriminalization park exemption (March 2023)

In March 2023, Dyas asked the BC government to exempt Kelowna municipal parks from the province's drug decriminalization, expressing concern that decriminalization could "create an influx of drug users from other provinces to parks in Kelowna during the summer." Interior Health medical health officer Dr. Carol Fenton publicly disagreed, saying the proposed approach "would perpetuate the stigma against drug users."

Closed-door meetings (October 2026)

In an October 1, 2026 Castanet story on an increase in Kelowna council business held in camera, Dyas defended the city's transparency practices, saying "We have a very transparent and open structure to the best ability we can" and "There's a process, and the reason why." He described in-camera meetings as reserved for matters such as land, employment, and confidential information, and for task-force meetings held to protect volunteer members from public or media scrutiny; he said the city clerk attends task-force meetings, key points are communicated to council, and task-force members return to present findings publicly. He also said the city's financial information is publicly available year-round through quarterly reports and that council meetings are recorded and viewable online. These are Dyas's own characterizations. The same article quotes former city clerk Stephen Fleming, who said he does not believe Kelowna uses closed meetings excessively compared with other local governments and attributed part of the trend to a province-wide shift toward confidential information.

Allegation about Ron Cannan's voting record (September 2026)

Dyas's campaign has alleged Cannan voted against public-safety funding. In a Sept. 23, 2026 Facebook post, Dyas wrote that "Kelowna's past four budgets funded 33 additional RCMP positions and 18 firefighter positions. Ron Cannan voted no every single time," and that Cannan "chose not to" fund the positions "he says he supports." In a separate campaign video, Dyas said of Cannan: "He voted against the RCMP officers. He voted against the bylaw. He voted against the firefighters" (as reported by Global News). Cannan disputes the characterization — "It's disingenuous in my mind to make that comment" — and, per Global News, says his vote was against overall budget spending rather than public-safety resources specifically. "Just adding more officers maybe is not the best answer. It's how they're deployed, and looking strategically at where those resources are best allocated," Cannan said. (Dyas Facebook post, Sept 23 2026 — https://www.facebook.com/MayorTomDyas/posts/kelownas-past-four-budgets-funded-33-additional-rcmp-positions-and-18-firefighte/1077868638315803; Global News, Sept 28 2026 — https://globalnews.ca/news/12076491/kelowna-businesses-safety-concerns-mayoral-candidates-debate-public-safety/) The "33 RCMP / 18 firefighters" figures are as stated by Dyas and have not been independently verified.

Questionnaire responses

Answers to the standardized Kelowna Elections questionnaire, sent in identical form to every mayoral candidate. Published verbatim; received 2026-10-04, after the October 2 deadline.

1. Housing affordability

My focus is on increasing housing supply and creating more opportunities for people who live and work in Kelowna to own a home. My plan includes encouraging more family-oriented and ownership housing, and supporting additional density where it makes sense and where infrastructure can support it. As Kelowna grows, we also need to make sure new housing fits the character of existing neighbourhoods and that growth pays its fair share of the infrastructure it requires.

2. Public safety

Public safety has been my top priority, and my plan would fund 75 additional frontline public-safety positions while maintaining stronger 24/7 coverage in Downtown and Rutland. Enforcement is essential, but it has to be paired with treatment, mental-health supports and prevention so police are not left dealing with issues that belong in the health-care system. Over the past four years we have significantly increased RCMP, bylaw and fire resources, and Kelowna’s crime severity index has declined for three consecutive years. Now we need a treatment first approach that increases access to detox, voluntary treatment, and mandatory compassionate care for those who are a danger to themselves or others.

3. Homelessness & the supervised consumption site

I do not support renewing the current supervised consumption model at Outreach Urban Health in its present form. My approach is Treatment First: expand detox and treatment capacity, pursue a regional treatment and recovery centre, support compassionate care for people who cannot care for themselves, and strengthen neighbourhood protections around social-service sites. We also need to keep building a real pathway to recovery through temporary housing into permanent or supportive housing.

4. Taxes & budget

My goal is to keep Kelowna’s taxes among the lowest in B.C. while protecting the services residents rely on, including public safety, roads, fire protection and core infrastructure. We have restructured the budget process to improve transparency and oversight, while securing more than $150 million in grants to help fund important projects without putting the full cost on local taxpayers. I will continue pursuing grants, partnerships, efficiencies and other revenues, while protecting frontline services and carefully scrutinizing spending.

5. Growth & infrastructure funding

As Kelowna grows, we need to aggressively pursue provincial and federal funding, grants and partnerships so local taxpayers are not expected to carry the full cost of major infrastructure. My highest transportation priority is fixing the bottlenecks that affect residents every day, including projects such as Clement Avenue, Glenmore Road, KLO Road and Burtch Road. We also need the Province to recognize major regional projects, including a future second crossing, as provincial priorities.

6. Transit & getting around

There is no single solution to congestion: Kelowna needs better transit, safer walking and cycling connections, and continued investment in the road network. My immediate priority is fixing major bottlenecks and completing major road projects already underway while working with the Province and regional partners to improve transit frequency and reliability. Over the next four years, we need transportation investments that give people more practical choices while keeping traffic moving.

7. Downtown & the local economy

A successful downtown has to feel safe, clean and welcoming for residents, businesses and visitors. My plan includes a 24/7 public-safety presence, continuing the Business Security Rebate, expanding practical crime-prevention tools and addressing the health and addiction issues that are driving visible disorder. At the same time, I want to keep supporting major events, tourism and investment that bring people downtown and help local businesses succeed.

8. Regional leadership

My first regional priority would be working with the Province and our regional partners to establish mandatory compassionate care at the Okanagan Correctional Centre for people with severe mental-health and addiction challenges who are unable to care for themselves. Beyond that, transportation and infrastructure must be a shared regional priority, including better connections between Kelowna, West Kelowna, Lake Country, Peachland and Westbank First Nation. We will have the strongest case for provincial and federal investment when the region speaks with one voice on these major priorities.

9. Chairing council

I believe the mayor’s job is to help council set clear priorities, get on the same page and work together to deliver on what the people of Kelowna tell us is most important. Councillors will not always agree, but disagreement should be respectful, focused on the issue and aimed at finding the best path forward. Once priorities are set and decisions are made, the responsibility is to come together and get results.

10. Intergovernmental advocacy

My most important ask of the Province is a major increase in treatment, detox and mental-health capacity. Municipalities cannot solve addiction, mental illness and homelessness with police and bylaw officers alone. We need a treatment first approach and to continue bringing together local governments, health-care partners and community leaders to make that case directly and consistently to the Province.

Registered campaign links

From the official candidate registration record; presence here is not an endorsement.

Financial agent: Onn Chong

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