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How did Save Our Saanich turn from an organization of concerned neighbours, into a Political Slate with 2/3rds of its candidates having worked or continuing to work in real estate or development – in only one year?

Above: Archived screenshot of SOS candidates Nancy Di Castri (Founder of SOS and recently its President) and Laurie Lidstone, from their shared website in 2018.


Article by Sasha Izard
July 18, 2026

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Last year, Save Our Saanich, a group of concerned residents of Saanich, became a registered Society, the Save Our Saanich Neigbourhoods Association. Half a year after that, Save Our Saanich registered as an Elector Organization for the 2026 election for Saanich Council. Now, the Elector Organization has a slate of candidates. 4 out of 6 of them, have or continue to work for real estate or development. If elected, they will have power over zoning in the District.

Full disclosure: I am running for Saanich Council myself, and I was a member of Save Our Saanich. I left the organization on January 27, 2026 – immediately after appallingly, the Elector Organization voted to approve a Constitution, with false/misleading Elections BC Requirements in it, something I had already pointed out days in advance, and which was even acknowledged as being the case by the leadership – yet they kept it in the Constitution that was voted on and approved!

You can read about that in the following article:

Grassroots or Astroturfing? A comparison of the Save Our Saanich EO Code of Conduct, and that of the BC Conservatives. – CRD Watch Homepage

The organization may have changed their EO Constitution since. I have no way of knowing, as I am not a member anymore, but the fact that the EO Principals actually put forward to the membership, a Constitution with false election BC requirements in the first place, and then knowingly kept those in it after it was pointed out to them; and then the membership voted to adopt the Constitution anyway, told me that there was no way that I could continue to be a member of the organization.

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This article has 2 purposes. The first is documentation. The second is to pose a question, which the SOS organization and/or candidates can respond to. Any such responses, will be added to this article or provided an entire article of their own which will be linked to here.

Unfortunately, there is no venue provided for real open, fulsome, and vigorous public debate/discussion between candidates during the election, something that there should be in a democracy, given that the outcome will be binding on our municipality for 4 years.

Government supposedly in the service of the people, does not provide the opportunity, which it should; and 45-second speaking intervals at all candidates meetings put on by resident associations are mere, opportunities for soundbites, making in-depth discussion and debate between the candidates effectively impossible, as Coca-Cola style advertising prevails during the election cycle.

Given that no real opportunities have been provided for such debate by government or by other organizations; any candidate in the 2026 general government local election can do so, by having their thoughts and writings published on the CRD Watch blog. If they would like to do so, they can email CRDWatch@mail.com

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2 new Save Our Saanich candidates for Saanich Council announced at the July 15, 2026 Town Hall.

On July 15, 2026 – the Save Our Saanich Elector Organization held a ‘public’ town hall, which they announced previously in the Saanich News, would take place at the Greek Community Hall near the Commonwealth Pool.

Only SOS candidates could speak from the pulpit. After they introduced themselves, the organization fielded at first, screened questions from the public including from their own members. By the time they opened questions from the floor, surprise, there wasn’t much time left. Many people had already left. Myself and some others were prevented from asking a question at the event. The town hall was in reality and not surprisingly, a well orchestrated campaign opportunity for the slate, rather than an opportunity for free and open discussion at a town hall; which was open to the public, as they had advertised in the paper.

At the town hall it was announced that Save Our Saanich has 2 new candidates which are now running on its slate. One of the candidates announced, is Nancy Di Castri, who only days earlier, had been president of the SOS Elector Organization. Previous to that she had been President of the Save Our Saanich Neighbourhoods Society, and a founding member and spokesperson for Save Our Saanich. Di Castri had previously told the press that she would not be running for Saanich Council.

The other slate candidate that was announced that Di Castri is running with is Laurie Lidstone. Laurie Lidstone is a longtime real estate partner with Nancy Di Castri.

The following is an Archive.org snapshot of the website https:/www.dicastrilidstone.com/ from March 18, 2026

Nancy Di Castri & Laurie Lidstone – Victoria, BC Real Estate Agents – Nancy Di Castri and Laurie Lidstone real estate Victoria British Columbia

Laurie Lidstone currently works for the COX LIDSTONE MCLEAN REAL ESTATE GROUP, according to their website at the time of writing.

Archived snapshot: COX LIDSTONE MCLEAN REAL ESTATE

Under Laurie’s personal profile on the CLM website: Laurie Lidstone – COX LIDSTONE MCLEAN REAL ESTATE – Lorie is described as “Our Investment Property Expert”.

“Want to Build Wealth Through Real Estate?
Meet Laurie Lidstone, Our Investment Property Expert”

“Born and raised in Victoria, Laurie Lidstone brings deep local knowledge, decades of experience, and a genuine commitment to helping others grow their wealth through real estate. As the 2024 Chair of the Victoria Real Estate Board, Laurie is at the forefront of our region’s fast-evolving market—and she’s especially passionate about helping clients succeed with investment properties.

Laurie’s real estate journey has spanned everything from first-time homebuyers to luxury listings, but over the years, her specialty has become clear: revenue-generating properties. From legal suites to multi-unit homes, she knows how to spot the right opportunities—and how to help her clients capitalize on them.”

“Why Invest in Victoria?

Victoria is one of Canada’s strongest and most stable rental markets, thanks to our desirable lifestyle, tight housing supply, and growing population. But to succeed as an investor, you need more than a hot market—you need the right strategy, support, and insight.

Whether you’re:

• Buying your first rental property
• Looking for a home with a legal suite or mortgage helper
• Exploring multi-unit or purpose-built opportunities
• Navigating tax rules, tenant laws, or financing hurdles
  
  

Laurie is here to guide you.“

At the time of writing Nancy Di Castri, although she has said that she is retired, is also listed on the COX LIDSTONE MCLEAN REAL ESTATE GROUP website: as “now working as our agent emeritus and consultant.”

Archived snapshot: Nancy Di Castri – COX LIDSTONE MCLEAN REAL ESTATE

2 years ago in 2024, Laurie Lidstone was the Chair of the Victoria Real Estate Board, a registered lobby on the BC Lobbyists Registry for real estate interests in the Greater Victoria area.

Here is the organization’s most recent 12 month lobbying summary:

Victoria Real Estate Board / David Corey, Executive Officer – 12-Month Lobbying Summary – Lobbyists Registry – Office of the Registrar or Lobbying of BC

In 2024, Lidstone was also a provincially registered lobbyist for the organization.

Victoria Real Estate Board / David Corey, Executive Officer – Registration – Organization – Lobbyists Registry – Office of the Registrar or Lobbying of BC

Victoria Real Estate Board / David Corey, Executive Officer – Registration – Organization – Lobbyists Registry – Office of the Registrar or Lobbying of BC

While Laurie Lidstone was the Chair of the Victoria Real Estate Board in 2024, the organization lobbied for the “Establishment of a permanent provincial housing policy roundtable to connect industry experts with government to collaborate on development of new housing.”

Last fall, I showed in an article and sequels to it, how this was dubiously endorsed last minute, by the Union of BC Municipalities. This was the article that I wrote in the fall:

The proposed “Permanent Provincial Housing Policy Roundtable” is an astroturfing effort by the Real Estate Lobby in BC, with the help of a complicit media in the province. Questions must be asked about close to $100 in value gifts to numerous MLAs. – CRD Watch Homepage

The sequels to the article:

“No, we do not have minutes.” – The Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) fails to document meetings that lead to resolutions. – CRD Watch Homepage

Complete lack of transparency: “As far as UBCM Resolutions Committee and my role as chair no we do not take or distribute minutes of the plenary sessions.” – CRD Watch Homepage

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Lorne and CBRE

The first SOS slate candidate for Saanich Council, to speak at the July 15 town hall was Lorne Delarge.

As late as 2024, Lorne worked for CBRE, a giant commercial real estate firm with head offices in the United States.

CBRE was a paying member (with multiple memberships) and almost certainly still is, of the UDI development and real estate lobby.

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

Recently, the provincial government of BC appointed CBRE as the housing advisor to North Saanich, something that I wrote two articles on:

Undue Influence: BC NDP Government Appointed Giant Commercial Real Estate Company as Housing Advisor to North Saanich – CRD Watch Homepage

Selling out North Saanich: The BC NDP appointed a housing advisor for the municipality, based in the United States – CRD Watch Homepage

The Provincial Government has extensive dealings with CBRE.

https://news.gov.bc.ca/releases/2018CITZ0018-001307

According to his LinkedIn profile at the time of writing, Lorne served as recently as two years ago, as Alliance Director/General Manager for CBRE.

“As the Alliance Manager I am responsible for oversight of all aspects of service lines provided to our client, the Province of British Columbia. This role is crucial in maintaining the relationship and serving as liaison for CBRE to our client.”

Excerpt from Lorne’s LinkedIn Bio at the time of writing:

Expanded text:

Previously, Lorne worked for the Provincial Government in the real estate services department of the Ministry of Citizens Services – the same Ministry that the current President of the SOS Neighbourhoods Society, Stu Hackett worked for and/or currently works for. At the time of writing Hackett appears in the following directory for looking up government employees:

Stu Hackett | Government of British Columbia

However, SOS Neighbourhoods Society President Stu Hackett after decades of public service, may have recently retired. His name does not appear on the current official government directory: BC Government Directory Home Page

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SOS Mayoral candidate Rishi Sharma, a “longtime property developer” and longtime governmental insider.

Recently, the Save Our Saanich Elector Organization, nominated Rishi Sharma as their Mayoral candidate. Sharma has a long history working in government, having worked in the Premier’s Office of at least one Premier, according to his extensive LinkedIn bio (Appendix 2 at the end of this article).

According to a June 23, 2022 Capital Daily article in which Sharma was interviewed, Sharma was described as a “longtime property developer.” Recently, Sharma was asked on social media if he is a developer, to which Sharma replied that he is not a full-time developer. Note: a part-time developer is still a developer.

Sharma held important positions in the Christy Clark government and twice ran provincially as a BC Liberal candidate for MLA. He also worked for 4 years in the Premier’s Office of Gordon Campbell as Manager, Media Monitoring.

More recently, according to his LinkedIn bio he worked full-time in the BC Government for the Intergovernmental and Stakeholder Relations Secretariat.

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Conclusion:

So there you have it. Of 6 candidates running for Saanich Council on the Save Our Saanich slate, 4 out of 6 with them, have worked or continue to work in real estate or development.

One of the candidates, Laurie Lidstone was recently Chair of a provincially registered lobbying organization for real estate interests, and was herself a provincially registered lobbyist.

The question stands:

How did Save Our Saanich turn from an organization of concerned neighbours, into a Political Slate with 2/3rds of its candidates having worked or continuing to work in real estate or development – in only one year?

The candidates and the organization, are welcome to answer the question. Any responses, if forthcoming will be published below.

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See also:

List of campaign donations made by those involved in development and real estate to the campaigns of those who were elected to Saanich council in the 2022 election. – CRD Watch Homepage

UVIC Real Estate Club compelled to rename its Board of Directors the “Advisory Board” after it turned out that the board was overwhelmingly dominated by current and past Directors from the same Provincially registered development/real estate lobbying organization. 6 out of 8 of the UVIC club Board members as it turned out, were not students attending UVIC. – CRD Watch Homepage

Save Our Saanich Cops Out on Subject of Amalgamation – CRD Watch Homepage

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Appendix 1: Screenshots of LinkedIn bio of Lorne DeLarge at the time of writing.

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Appendix 2: Screenshots of LinkedIn bio of Rishi Sharma at the time of writing.