Incumbent Mayor Mike Hurley secured a decisive third term in Burnaby’s municipal election, capturing nearly 58 per cent of the vote with all 40 polls reporting. Hurley defeated five challengers, led by Burnaby First candidate Heymann Yip, as advance voting surged in the B.C. city.
Voters headed to the polls across Burnaby to decide whether Mayor Mike Hurley gets a third term or the city gets a new leader. Interest in the civic race surged early, with more than 16,000 Burnaby residents casting ballots in advance voting, marking an increase of more than 70 per cent compared to 2022.
Mike Hurley Secures Victory Over Five Challengers
Hurley secured a third term as mayor of Burnaby by finishing 19,696 votes ahead of his closest competitor. Preliminary tallies from the City of Burnaby showed Hurley claiming victory with nearly 58 per cent of the vote, as all 40 polls reported a cumulative total of 28,946 ballots cast in his favour.
Burnaby First candidate Heymann Yip finished in a distant second place with 9,250 votes.
Before entering politics, Hurley worked as a firefighter; he initially launched his Burnaby mayoral bid as an independent during the 2018 municipal contest, defeating longtime incumbent Derek Corrigan. According to information published on Hurley’s website, his decision to enter that 2018 race stemmed from worries that longtime Burnaby residents would be displaced from their homes by demovictions. In 2022, Hurley ran uncontested and won by acclamation.
Contrasting Visions on Housing, Spending, and Public Safety
Ahead of the election, CJSF 90.1FM reached out to all Burnaby mayoral candidates to discuss their platforms. Challenger Yip focused his criticism on the council’s handling of development, public spending, and community engagement, whereas Hurley emphasized his track record regarding public safety and housing initiatives.
Hurley campaigned on his record of housing initiatives and pointed to major ongoing civic projects, stating, (We’re) building three new community centers, (a) new police station and a new performing arts center. Also, our Burnaby Housing Authority … just started a thousand new affordable homes, which will be coming very quickly together. So, those are the priorities.
Businessman Heymann Yip heads up Burnaby First, which also ran three council candidates on the ballot. Yip campaigned on housing, protecting green space, and addressing homelessness, explaining that some of the key points of interest would be to expand … the original purpose-built rentals, the old what we called apartment buildings
. Yip added that a second priority would be re-establishing a committee to tackle parks, green spaces, conservation areas, streams, and trails, while a third focus would involve working on the file for people who are unsheltered and homeless.
Bill Petrovas campaigned on public safety, preventing homelessness, and taking a closer look at city spending, telling reporters, On day one, we want … an auditor general to do an audit to see where we stand
. Petrovas added, Then also, for the first 30 days, find out all the renters who might be evicted and get stronger protections for them and identify those who are at risk and make sure we identify every avenue for people so they don’t end up homeless
.
Other mayoral contenders also introduced distinct proposals. Hanzhi Wang pushed for more missing-middle housing and transportation improvements. Sabina Hsu campaigned on economic growth and efforts to lower property taxes. MichaelAngelo ABCRobinHood proposed a 10-per-cent property-tax discount for seniors and stated he would donate his entire mayoral salary to school lunch programs, single parents, and people in need.
Burnaby Citizens Association Fights to Maintain City Hall Majority
The mayor’s race was just one part of a busy election, with 42 candidates competing for eight council seats. Amid worries regarding development velocity, financial transparency, and property taxes, the NDP-allied Burnaby Citizens Association sought to preserve the municipal majority it has maintained since 1987. The BCA ticket lacked three familiar names after Alison Gu—who topped the polls in 2022—alongside longtime councillors Pietro Calendino and Sav Dhaliwal, opted not to seek re-election.
Additional opposition emerged from the New Burnaby party.
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