Municipal Candidates Meet Greater Nelson Business Community

Prior to taking the podium to individually introduce themselves to the business community, the candidates who attended the Nelson & District Chamber of Commerce’s municipal election event on September 29 posed for a group photo. It was the first gathering of the majority of the candidates in the 2026 campaign.

Event at Adventure Hotel an Exciting Start to 2026 Campaign

Candidates vying for a seat at the municipal government table gathered with the Greater Nelson business community for the first event of the 2026 campaign.

The Nelson & District Chamber of Commerce held a meet-and-greet at the Adventure Hotel on September 29 that included candidates on the ballot for Nelson mayor, Nelson council and Regional District of Central Kootenay (RDCK) Area E director. It was the first time the majority of the candidates were in the same place, kicking off a series of different events that will take place throughout the community before the October 17 vote.

“Our members play a vital role in our community on a daily basis, so it’s important that we take a closer look at what everyone has to say about their plan going forward,” said Tom Thomson, executive director of the Nelson & District Chamber of Commerce. “The evening was a perfect chance to hear directly from the candidates and for our members to ask questions. All the candidates did a great job and it was a successful night in the democratic process.”

Nelson & District Chamber of Commerce executive director Tom Thomson was the moderator of the evening of politics that took place at the Adventure Hotel on September 29.

With all but one candidate attending the event, each individual on the ballot spent two minutes at the podium where they introduced themselves and highlighted elements of their platform. Candidates outlined their experience for the 60-plus people in the banquet room with focus on annual budgets, aging infrastructure, planning, accountability, tax rates, recreation amenities and approach to governance.

After the introductions, candidates were encouraged to engage in direct dialogue with the interested Chamber members who attended.

“It was terrific to see all the different conversations going on after the podium introductions were done,” said Thomson. “There was some real great questions coming from our membership and the candidates were able to bring more context to their ideas through one-on-one discussion. It was a different approach than many of the election events we have organized in the past, but it seemed that both sides left the banquet room with some better understanding.”

Leading up to Election Day on October 17, the Chamber will continue with its role of informing members and the public about how candidates plan to work with the business community by posing two specific questions that will be posted on its website. You can find the write-in introductions here and make sure to check back for continuing coverage.

Our community also has other resources to help you make your decisions.

There will be a number of different election forums and events that are sponsored by different groups. The longstanding tradition of the Nelson & District Chapter of the Canadian Federation of University Women will take place at Central (Wildflower) School gym (811 Stanley Street) on Wednesday, October 7 starting at 7 pm.

Local media are also doing an excellent job of covering the candidates and the election. Here are a few websites to check out:

• The Nelson Star is introducing candidates and asking questions. The local paper’s coverage can be found here.
• Veteran local journalist Timothy Shafer and the team at Castanet has ongoing coverage of the regional campaign scene. You can find a launch point here.
• The volunteer team at Kootenay Co-Op Radio (KCR) is doing an extensive job with live interviews and other coverage. Check out their building resource here.
• Former Nelson Star municipal government reporter Bill Metcalfe has covered the community for many years. For the election, he has set up a Substack page with stories on all the candidates that can be found here.

Voting in the local government elections will take place at the Prestige Lakeside Resort & Convention Centre (701 Lakeside Drive) on October 17 from 8 am to 8 pm. There are also two advance voting opportunities that will be held at Nelson City Hall (second floor) on Wednesday, October 7 and Wednesday, October 14 from 8 am to 8 pm.

Learn more about the Nelson & District Chamber of Commerce here.