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All UDI Municipal Memberships on Vancouver Island Eliminated.

By Sasha Izard
April 14, 2026


On April 13, 2026 – Colwood City Council unanimously voted for the City to leave the Urban Development Institute (UDI), by approving a motion put forward by Councillor Ian Ward calling for the immediate termination of the City’s paid membership in the lobbying organization.

Thus, after 4 years of launching the campaign to separate lobby and state, all 8 municipalities on Vancouver Island that were paying members of the UDI + the regional government the CRD, have decided to discontinue their paid memberships from the lobbying organization.

The campaign to separate lobby and state continues onto the mainland, with the District of North Vancouver having pulled its membership last year, and with opposition to local government UDI memberships flaring up in various municipalities on the mainland as far as Kelowna.

Various Crown Corporations and statutory entities are still paying members of the UDI and some continue to pour money into the organization, most notably BC Housing.

$10,000 a pop, and VIP Tables included: how BC Housing has been funnelling taxpayer money ($62,500 in less than 5 years) into the UDI, a registered lobbying organization for development and real estate, through $10K sponsorship agreements. – CRD Watch Homepage

BC Housing’s out of control spending spree: $82,249 spent in only 3 and a half years, on costs related to a single lobby for real estate and development. – CRD Watch Homepage

According to the backed-up members directory in early 2024, BC Transit, TransLink, BC Hydro, The Land Titles Survey Authority, BC Assessment, and BC Housing were UDI members.  They are probably still UDI members.

Public Release of the Urban Development Institute (UDI)’s hidden members directory dated to the beginning of 2024. The directory contains dozens of government branches that are hiding their memberships in the registered lobbying organization for development and real estate interests from the public. – CRD Watch Homepage

Index of Crown Corporations and Statutory Entities that have acted evasively about their UDI memberships. – CRD Watch Homepage

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Colwood’s withdrawal, the final nail in the coffin of the UDI’s municipal memberships on Vancouver Island.

After Councillor Ward put forth his well reasoned motion, Mayor Kobayashi lamented how much time they had effectively wasted writing letters in response, opposing letters from the UDI.

He then asked Jason Johnson of Colwood CAO, what staff considered about the issue.

Before becoming the CAO of Colwood, Jason Johnson previously worked for the City of Victoria as City Manager, a position which he appears to have taken on in the end of 2013. The City of Victoria first joined the UDI as a full corporate member in 2013 with the Approval of the City Manager’s office, although it is uncertain if that was Johnson’s decision or that of a predecessor. The previous City Manager left in early 2013, and apparently Jocelyn Jenkins, the current Victoria City Manager, was Acting City Manager between that time and Johnson taking over. Johnson certainly let the membership continue under his watch, and the relationship between the City of Victoria and the lobby continued to deepen, as it did under Jenkins, who succeeded him.

Zooming forward again to April 13 2026, Colwood’s Mayor asked Johnson the following question:

So I think that I’ve asked Mr. Johnson what staff still feels that we should belong to it [the UDI] or not. And I’ll let you speak, Mr. Johnson, on that.[77:28]

[Johnson] “That’s purely a council decision, and removing ourselves from being members doesn’t change our relationship with UDI. In fact, we discussed this at a joint meeting that we had with the UDI executive and the president, and they were quite comfortable knowing that their membership has gone down as a result of their advocacy efforts, and it wouldn’t change our relationship that we have with them, and that was clear in that meeting.”

Source of transcription: Civic Searchlight.

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Backroom meetings continue in at least 4 local governments on the island:

As in Saanich, Victoria and Esquimalt, when they pulled out, Colwood kept its backroom meetings with the UDI-municipal liaison committee.

So the business as usual/dealings continues between the lobby and these municipalities in the dark, despite the membership pullouts by these municipalities. Although the overt aspect and most obvious conflict of interested have ended on the island, that of the municipal memberships, the non-overt backroom access into our municipalities from the development/real estat lobby continues. The harder work, and it must continue, is to dislodge this.

There was success of this in regard to the CRD, when I questioned the legality of committee meetings where the UDI had a permanent seat, that were closed to the general public:

CRD Cleaning up its act on the Regional Housing Advisory Committee – CRD Watch Homepage

There may be legal avenues moving forward, that could challenge the presence of closed joint development lobby/municipal committee meetings held on government premises.

UDI-Municipal Liaison Committees on the island take place in the:

District of Saanich
Township of Esquimalt
City of Colwood
City of Victoria.

See:

The Urban Development Institute (UDI) Caught Misleading the Public Again – CRD Watch Homepage

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Chronology:

Local governments and the regional government that discontinued their UDI memberships, in chronological order:

Saanich – Unanimous Council decision (2023)

View Royal – Unanimous Council Decision (2023)

Oak Bay – Staff Decision (2024)

CRD – Staff Decision (2024)

Sooke – Unanimous Council Decision (2025)
District of North Vancouver – Staff Decision (2025)

City of Victoria – Council Decision by 8-1 vote. (2026)
Township of Esquimalt – Staff Decision (2026)
City of Langford – Council Decision by 6-1 vote. (2026)
City of Colwood – Unanimous Council Decision (2026)

Note: In 3 years, only 2 elected officials on Vancouver Island voted to have their local government continue its UDI membership. They were Councillor Matt Dell in the City of Victoria, and Langford Mayor Scott Goodmanson.

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See also:

Adam Stirling Hour 2—April 14—2026 – Adam Stirling: The Podcast | iHeart  Adam Stirling and Sasha Izard discussed on CFAX, the end of UDI memberships on Vancouver Island. 

Saanich bails on membership in developers’ organization – Victoria Times Colonist

Crystal Pool; higher utility rates – Victoria Times Colonist Letter to the editor on the end of the municipal UDI memberships on the island, published in the April 18, 2026 edition of the Times Colonist).

The Strange Case of How a Municipality in BC Became a Development and Real Estate Lobby Member Without Informing Mayor and Council and How a Local Government in BC Joining the Development and Real Estate Lobby as a Paying Member Without a Vote from Elected Officials Turned Out to Not be an Unusual Practice After All… Part II. – Sasha Izard

Sooke Council unanimously decides to end the District’s membership with the Urban Development Institute (UDI) – The UDI Capital Region appears in disarray, it’s Board of Directors is missing and its Executive Director is no longer listed on the UDI’s website as a member of staff. – CRD Watch Homepage

The City of Victoria withdraws its UDI lobby membership. – CRD Watch Homepage

The Township of Esquimalt decided to discontinue its UDI membership. – CRD Watch Homepage

The District of North Vancouver has discontinued its UDI membership. – CRD Watch Homepage

Langford Council ends the City’s UDI membership. – CRD Watch Homepage

Inside the UDI scandal and why Victoria had to be pushed to cut ties with its own lobbyists, by Arthur McInnis – CRD Watch Homepage

Does the UDI lobby on behalf of its paying member municipalities? I asked this question to its last 4 paying municipal members on the island. – CRD Watch Homepage

Index of articles about lobbying influence on the City of Victoria and deliberations regarding it. – CRD Watch Homepage

CRD Cleaning up its act on the Regional Housing Advisory Committee – CRD Watch Homepage

Index of articles revealing major lobbying influence on B.C. Provincial Housing Bills and Housing Targets. – CRD Watch Homepage

Index of articles regarding lobby events and other meetings between government and lobbyists. – CRD Watch Homepage

Index of Articles regarding Jet Flights for City of Victoria Staff to development lobby events, that were charged to the City. – CRD Watch Homepage