Sam Holland – Oak Bay mayor candidate 2026
The Times Colonist Sep 18, 2026 8:48 PM Oct 8, 2026 6:41 PM
Sam Holland is running for mayor in Oak Bay. SUBMITTED
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Sam Holland
Municipality where you are running: Oak Bay
Position you are running for: Mayor
Are you associated with or running as part of a slate? If so, which one?
No.
URLs (web addresses/links) for any websites/social media you are using for your campaign.
Website: https://www.samuelholland.ca
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/samholland01
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/samuel_dhol/
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/samuelholland.ca
Do you live in the municipality where you are running, and if so, for how long? If not, in which municipality do you live? What is your connection to the community where you are running?
I have lived, studied, worked, and played in and around Oak Bay since 2011, and studied at UVic. I currently live near Royal Jubilee Hospital.
What is your job/profession, and for how long?
I’ve worked as a nonprofit program developer and community organizer since the pandemic. I’ve started and helped administer multiple successful programs, working with municipalities, the province, and non-profits across BC. I know how to get things done with a team, in a timely manner.
Tell us about your previous elected and/or community experience.
I’ve previously been elected to the UVic University Senate and the Students’ Society Board of Directors. I’ve served as the founding Chair of Better Transit YYJ, and served on multiple other nonprofit boards including the Island Aikido Society and Homes for Living. I’ve always tried to prioritize relationship-building and effective action.
If you have previously held office: What have you accomplished that you’re proud of, and how much did it cost the municipality?
N/A
If you have previously held office: What do you wish the municipality had not done under your watch?
N/A
Why are you running? What is your motivation?
I’m running because Oak Bay deserves leadership on addressing the family doctor and nurse practitioner shortage, providing more housing options, and fixing our infrastructure in a timely way. I’m also concerned about the lack of action on basically every Council and District priority, particularly climate action and affordable housing.
Seniors deserve to be able to age in their community, and not have to move to the Westshore to get access to long-term care. Folks who grew up here shouldn’t have to move away because they can’t find a place to rent.
What would you bring to council?
I’m someone who gets things done. I’m not running to keep a seat warm for the next four years.
I’ll bring a focus on results and outcomes, not just updating plans. A collaborative approach to working with the Provincial and Federal governments. A strong belief in building relationships across economic, cultural, social, and political divides.
In your opinion, what are the three most important challenges facing your community?
1) Infrastructure. We have $300-400 million of immediate infrastructure replacement need. With the current plan, we won’t be caught up on sewer, water, and transport infrastructure until the 2070s. I believe we can and need to do better. These improvements should include a focus on safety, so that everyone can drive, walk, and roll safely in the District. I’m a safety-first kind of person.
2) Housing attainability and affordability. We need more housing options in our region. That includes middle-income public housing, affordable seniors’ care, and new rental homes. I will support these housing options.
3) Lack of access to primary care. Folks are leaving problems to worsen to the point of needing to go to the emergency room, because they don’t have access to a family doctor or nurse practitioner. I will bring a family primary care clinic to the District.
What’s your vision for your community in 10 years?
That Oak Bay continues to possess incredible natural, architectural, and urban beauty, while being a welcoming and supportive community for all.
What is one “big idea” you have for your community?
A municipal clinic for Oak Bay. Let’s bring family doctors and nurse practitioners to our community, and make sure everyone has good access to primary care. A clinic could be built using existing commercial space in the short term, and in the middle term be relocated to the Oak Bay Lodge site, when we get that project built.
If elected, how will you balance your goals with fiscal responsibility?
My goals, in essence, all centre around fiscal responsibility. Inaction is an expensive choice, especially when it’s inaction on fixing pipes and sidewalks, and allowing more folks into the District to share our financial load.
Even a municipal clinic can be done extremely cheaply. Past councils have been extremely fiscally irresponsible, which is why we now have a massive infrastructure problem.
Are you in favour of increased development or densification in your community? How would you balance the need for more housing, as mandated by the province for some areas, with local concerns?
We need more housing options and small businesses to increase the tax base. Put simply, we cannot afford the infrastructure we have, and unless we bring more people to the district, taxes will have to keep coming up, and services will continue to worsen. I’m frustrated by the assumption from the current council that we need to keep cutting back on services. Let’s look for efficiencies, but we can and should welcome more people to Oak Bay. We can’t afford the alternative.
Governing is hard. How do you make decisions when the answers aren’t clear?
We can only make decisions with the information we possess.
Firstly, I will endeavour to build prototyping, iteration, and experimentation into how we do government. Not every decision needs to be a 10, 20, or 50 year decision. We can try things, and if they don’t work, we can do something else. As a region, we are not very good at this kind of learning, and we can do better.
Secondly, when making these decisions, I will always be considering the needs of future residents and future generations, and the people who aren’t in the room.
