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Cranbrook, BC (September 22, 2026) – Mayors and Councillors from across the Province, including those from the City of Cranbrook joined together to meet with the BC government at last week’s Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) convention in Vancouver. Municipalities all over BC continue to grapple with social disorder associated with drug use, crime, and homelessness, working with the provincial government on support and improvements in services to communities to reduce these challenges. Changing legislation that requires municipalities to take a more structured approach to large scale emergency preparedness was also the subject of education sessions.

Cranbrook was represented by Mayor Wayne Price, Councillors Popoff, Wray, Graham, and Stetski, along with CAO Mark Fercho and Mike Matejka, Director of Engineering and Development Services, for meetings with provincial ministries about their services delivered in Cranbrook.

Over the course of the week, members of Council had meetings on critical issues facing Cranbrook including:

• Honourable Christine Boyle, Ministry of Housing and Municipal Affairs

(Left to right) – Mayor Wayne Price; Honourable Christine Boyle, BC Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs; Councillor Lynnette Wray; Councillor Wayne Stetski.

Members of Council and City staff met with Minister Christine Boyle to ask the Province to reactivate Cranbrook’s $13-million BC Builds–Community Housing Funding for a proposed 40-unit mixed-market residential project. The City emphasized the funding is especially important for Cranbrook as a small regional service centre, where this kind of “missing middle” housing is limited and urgently needed.

The City said the project would support skilled workers and help keep Cranbrook a place people want to live. Council and staff also met with representatives from the Ministry and BC Housing, including BC Housing CEO Vincent Tong, to reinforce the need to move the project forward.

• Honourable Terry Yung, Minister of State for Community Safety, and Integrated Services

(Left to right) – Mayor Wayne Price; Honourable Terry Yung, Minister of State Community Safety & Integrated Services; Councillor Lynnette Wray; Councillor Wayne Stetski; Councillor Ron Popoff.

Members of Council and City staff met with Minister Terry Yung to discuss the ongoing impacts of social disorder on Cranbrook’s local businesses, including homelessness, addictions, mental health challenges, property crime, theft, and vandalism. The City meeting was also on behalf of the Chamber of Commerce under a partnership to reduce crime impacts on business. Many local business owners have spent significant funds on security measures such as cameras, alarm systems, security guards, and fencing, while also managing the stress and safety concerns that come with repeated break-ins and property damage.

The City asked the Province to expand grant programs that support business security upgrades and to consider made in Cranbrook pilot project crime prevention strategies that help improve business resilience. This includes Cranbrook’s Business Block Watch Pilot Project, a partnership involving the Chamber of Commerce, local businesses, the RCMP, and the City. Council and staff also met with Saad Shoaib, Ministerial Advisor, and Joey Mitchell, Chief of Staff to the Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General.

• Honourable Amna Shah, Parliamentary Secretary for Mental Health and Addictions

(Left to right) – Councillor Ron Popoff; Councillor Wayne Stetski, Amna Shah, Parliamentary Secretary for Mental Health and Addictions; Councillor Lynnette Wray; Mayor Wayne Price.

Members of Council and City staff met with Parliamentary Secretary Amna Shah, along with Diane Shendruk, VP, Clinical Operations at Interior Health, to request stronger provincial support for youth detox and treatment services in Cranbrook and the surrounding area. The City noted that illegal drug use is increasing among youth under 19, resulting in overdoses and deaths, while overdoses have become the leading health emergency response for Cranbrook Fire & Emergency Services first responders.

While local counselling support is available for youth struggling with addictions and their families, the nearest youth residential recovery centres are in Kamloops and Kelowna, creating added pressure for families seeking care. The City is asking the Province to establish a youth residential detox and treatment centre in Cranbrook or nearby, an initiative also supported as a 2026 priority by the Association of Kootenay Boundary Local Government (AKBLG).

Mayor Wayne Price and Councillor Wray also met with members of the Canadian Federation of Independent Businesses (CFIB) at UBCM to discuss their perspectives as they are representing small business and business priorities in municipalities along with the Chamber of Commerce.

(Left to right) – Molly MacCormack, Policy Analyst, CFIB; Mayor Wayne Price; Councillor Lynnette Wray; Kalith Nanayakkara Senior Policy Analyst, CFIB.

Members of Council and City staff met virtually with A/ADM Charlie Short, Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship on September 8, 2026 to discuss the City’s request for provincial funding support for the Gold Creek Dam replacement project. Gold Creek is Cranbrook’s primary drinking water source, and the existing dam is failing and planned for replacement.

The City noted that significant infrastructure inflation, increased regulatory requirements, and related costs have created challenges in funding the project, despite work already underway on design, approvals, grant applications, integrated project delivery, and water metering. The City is asking the Province for significant funding support to help construct the nearly shovel-ready Gold Creek Dam, which is needed to support continued housing growth and strengthen wildfire emergency management for the community.

“Each of these meetings were important in that they continue to show the proactive work being undertaken by this Council and staff to address the issues faced locally,” says Mayor Wayne Price. “Our meetings where we requested specific support for Cranbrook were all met with positive reactions and contact sharing within provincial staff in order to continue these discussions and move progress forward. On behalf of Council, I want to thank each of these Ministers and ministry staff for the time made available for us to meet with them.”

The Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) serves as an important platform for local government, helping to develop shared policies and positions that are communicated to provincial and federal governments, as well as other organizations involved in local matters. The annual UBCM convention is an opportunity for members to come together, identify key policy issues, and engage in meaningful discussions with other levels of government. For more information about UBCM, visit their website at www.ubcm.ca.