I have called North Cowichan home for 13 years this fall in our home in Chemainus. In that time my family and I have become deeply connected to the region and the people. Deepening our roots, we opened a successful small retail business in Chemainus on the same street as our home 12 years ago. I have had the opportunity to make great friendships and relationships with our many neighbours and customers alike.
As a passionate community advocate, I served as the President of the Chemainus Business Improvement Association, working hard to foster a successful small businesses atmosphere. Alongside my work on the CBIA I also served as a Director of the Cowichan Trail Stewardship Society doing advocacy work, trail development, maintenance, and raising awareness of the amazing hiking and biking opportunities in North Cowichan’s community forests.
As you can image the life of small business has taught me to adapt to new ideas quickly when needed but always to pay attention to expenses and revenues in every decision these past 2 decades. While simultaneously helping run our small business I also worked for 21 years in the resource industry in the field of electric submersible pumping systems. In that time I started in field service side driving a semi but eventually trained up to become a senior service technician. I finished my career as operations management and senior technical sales and applications. This taught me the importance of careful planning but also creating both operational and capital budgets.
In 2017 I retired from my career in the resource industry to take a larger role in running our local business. I eventually supported my wife to pursue a new career and took over the complete day to day operations. Around this same time I pursued my passion for the outdoors and started doing freelance photography and writing work which comprises the bulk of the content you see here on my website. The majority of this work focused on travelling to communities across BC and Alberta supporting their eco-tourism economy as well as some times cultural and historical work to raise awareness for their communities.
It was a great honour and privilege to serve on North Cowichan Council these past four years. I gained a greater care and understanding for this beautiful place we work, live and play. I did my homework on council and understood the agenda items through being well read and prepared for each meeting. Building on my experience serving on council for two terms in Saskatchewan and now my recent term serving on North Cowichan council I bring nearly a decade of governance experience to the table.
While on council this past term I served as the Chair of the Cowichan North Recreation CVRD Commission, Sport Tourism Committee, Chemainus Chamber of Commerce council board liaison and Chemainus Festival of Murals council board liaison.
Hiking on Maple Mountain – Photo Chris Istace
My Commitments and Priorities on North Cowichan Council
Steadfast protection of the Environment in conjunction with climate adaptation and mitigation policies that need to underlay all decisions at the council table. I whole heartedly commit to continuing my vocal support and recent voting record to adopt the updated CAEP (Climate Action & Energy Program). If re-elected I would bring forward the motion again as I had previously done to have North Cowichan adopt the Fossil Fuel free BC Building Code Step Code EL-4 for residential buildings.
To round out environmental protection would be support to continue with my priority to protect rural lands and the new Strategic Agricultural Plan in the next term. Then last but not least continue to implement the focus on Active Transportation within the new Master Transportation Plan which as like the others, voted in strong favour for. Strong vision, support and investment into walking, cycling and transit creates more equity to road use and economic opportunities for our residents and also helps us meet our climate goals
Affordable and Social Housing which includes subsidized rentals, supportive housing, co-ops and sound infill densification through North Cowichan Affordable Housing Policy and Community Amenity Contribution Policy. We must also include space and consideration for those most at risk in our community by advocating for more provincial funding. This must also consider a permanent emergency shelter space, long term treatment and mental health space, Heart and Hearth village site and exploring long term RV parking.
Upholding Reconciliation and Relationship building with Quw’utsun Nation. With the recent rise of racism, fear mongering and misinformation on DRIPA with regards to property rights and treaty process, this work continues to be more important than ever.
Committing to the Pause in the MFR for a new forest management policy and First Nation co-stewardship model to equally meet the strong community support for reconciliation and environmental stewardship. We have heard clearly and consistently from the community that the cultural, ecological and recreational values of North Cowichan’s six community municipal forests holds higher value than a resumption of commercial logging. Learn more on the Municipal Forest review in my previous post here; Where Do I stand on the MFR
Supporting business & economic growth including eco-tourism and sport tourism by implementing the recommendations in new Economic Development Master Plan. This includes building on North Cowichan’s momentum in forestry value-added industry and manufacturing in the municipality.
Finally and most important of all, Financial Pragmatism on annual budgets & infrastructure backlog. North Cowichan needs strong leadership in tough forward looking taxation choices. We are long past due infrastructure repair and replacement combined with new demands from a growing population we can’t ignore the work to be done.
Each year we have been spending about 10-12 million on capital project investment when sound asset management practices would have us spending roughly $40 million. We need to work together on council and staff with feedback from residents and the business community on how we bridge this gap, ending the hole we continue to ignore ourselves into. This is then also compounded by the significant taxation loss due to the closure of the Crofton Mill, the downloaded E-Com 911 costs from the province and escalating RCMP budgets.
In the next term on council we need to ensure we have chosen the right services to provide and whether the revenue available is adequate to fund those services. Based on that it may be necessary to adjust the services or the revenue. Planning for future costs is the biggest driver of future revenue requirements, so approving high-cost, low-revenue infrastructure sets the stage for a revenue shortfall. From North Cowichan’s Budget Interactive Webpage;
North Cowichan has maintained the lowest tax burden among our comparator communities for decades. While this has been beneficial for residents from a tax perspective, it has not benefited the municipality’s ability to manage assets or plan for future growth. This prolonged low-tax environment has led to:
Severely underfunded capital and equipment reserves
No capacity to absorb major financial shocks, such as the Crofton Mill closure
Minimal investment and commitment toward asset management
Inadequate funding and planning for designated growth areas
Staffing levels that fall far short of supporting a rapidly growing community
Chris Istace for North Cowichan Council 2026
Elect Chris Istace to North Cowichan Council on October 17th 2026
These past 4 years on council I’ve worked hard delivering on my commitments to bring people together with fairness, transparency, empathy and compassion working to serve all residents in North Cowichan. If you have any questions or would like to meet up to chat about my re-election please use the contact form on my website or email chris.istace@gmail.com
I would be honored to have your vote for re-election on October 17th.
Quamichan Lake Neighbourhood Association Candidate Forum Sept 19th
Maple Bay Community Association Candidate Forum September 22
Remaining Candidate Forums;
Thur October 1st – Chemainus Residents Association – Chemainus Secondary School
Wed October 7th – Crofton Community Association – Crofton Community Hall
2026 Voting Locations October 17th:
Municipal Hall, 7030 Trans-Canada Highway , North Cowichan
Quw’utsun Secondary School, 2003 University Way, North Cowichan
Ecole Mount Prevost School, 6177 Somenos Road, North Cowichan
Maple Bay Elementary School, 1500 Donnay Drive, North Cowichan
Crofton Fire Hall, 1681 Robert Street, Crofton
Chemainus Secondary School, 9947 Daniel Street, Chemainus
2026 Advance Polls:
October 7th & 13th, 8am to 8pm
North Cowichan Municipal Hall
7030 Trans Canada Highway
** Authorized by Chris Istace Financial Agent, chris.istace@gmail.com
