Metro Vancouver has 41 directors. After a governance review, will that change?

Justin McElroy · CBC News

· Posted: May 15, 2025 9:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 21 minutes ago

After a twelvemonth of upheaval and reviews, Metro Vancouver directors are awaiting a study that could tweak a fewer parts of the biggest determination authorities successful B.C. — oregon could kickstart monolithic reforms successful the mode the country from Lions Bay to Langley is overseen. 

"I've heard the connection amalgamation," said Metro Vancouver Vce-Chair John McEwen, referring to the conception of merging immoderate oregon each of the patchwork of 21 municipalities that comprise the Metro Vancouver Regional District. 

"I don't cognize however to alteration the governing exemplary truthful that everybody inactive has a say. Right now, we let a accidental from the politician of Vancouver oregon Surrey, but besides the politician of Anmore oregon Port Moody."

Metro Vancouver initiated an autarkic reappraisal of its governance by Deloitte Canada pursuing months of media reports astir the oversight, outgo overruns and remuneration of its directors and elder staff. 

That study is expected by the extremity of the month. Directors person pledged to person an unfastened caput connected immoderate recommendations are made.

But regardless, Metro Vancouver faces a question akin to municipalities crossed British Columbia — whether radical tin disagree agreeably and determination forward, oregon endure imaginable consequences. 

"When you person a assembly that is rowing successful the aforesaid direction, you tin execute immoderate precise affirmative things," said Brad West, the politician of Port Coquitlam and 1 of the 41 committee members of the Metro Vancouver board.

"If you person a assembly that is astatine warfare with each other, and everything is political? You cognize what usually happens is voters accidental you're each gone."

'There's not the aforesaid grade of nimbleness'

In beforehand of the governance report, CBC News interviewed 4 directors astatine the centre of debates implicit Metro Vancouver implicit the past year: 

• West, the high-profile politician who enactment guardant a fig of reforms to Metro Vancouver successful February.
• Delta Coun. Dylan Kruger, who helped region Delta Mayor George Harvie arsenic Metro Vancouver seat a twelvemonth ago.
• Burnaby Mayor Mike Hurley, who replaced Harvie arsenic committee chair.
• Anmore Mayor John McEwen, who has served arsenic vice-chair earlier and aft Harvie's replacement.

In addition, CBC News spoke connected inheritance with different 8 past and contiguous directors crossed the region. 

Together, they overgarment a representation of an enactment that has struggled to respond successful the aftermath of the antagonistic attention. 

Different municipalities took antithetic strategies successful dealing with the fallout, with the 2 biggest — Vancouver and Surrey — efficaciously boycotting antithetic parts of the determination government. The consequent politicization created plentifulness of divided votes and a deficiency of wide direction. 

"It is truly challenging to person 41 radical astir the table," said Kruger, who has pushed for Metro Vancouver to absorption much intelligibly connected the 80 per cent of its fund dedicated to h2o and waste. 

"We person to set our expectations. It is simply a antithetic carnal than a assembly table. And if we enactment the aforesaid expectations of a assembly array connected it, I deliberation we're going to beryllium people disappointed by the result."

West, whose question ruffled immoderate feathers with directors successful respective municipalities, said the sheer fig of directors made it hard to determination quickly. 

"There's not the aforesaid grade of nimbleness that you mightiness find successful a metropolis assembly successful responding to issues that emerge," helium said. 

"What you saw play retired was 41 radical benignant of waiting for idiosyncratic to bash something."

Many directors believed media disapproval of expenses was excessive comparative to Metro Vancouver's billion-dollar yearly budget, oregon lacked examination to different jurisdictions. 

"I deliberation we surely enactment a batch of materials retired that weren't reported oregon for immoderate crushed … I didn't deliberation that was reasonably done," said Hurley. 

But astatine the aforesaid time, helium and different directors agreed the criticisms were warranted, and a reappraisal was helpful. 

"I deliberation some things tin beryllium existent astatine the aforesaid time," said Kruger. 

"This is simply a multibillion-dollar organization that does incredibly large things each azygous time … but we request to get backmost to focusing connected those fundamentals and halt getting distracted by things that conscionable don't present bully worth for taxpayers."

'Difficult...but manageable'

One of the reasons it's hard to comparison Metro Vancouver to different determination governments is that there's thing similar it successful Canada. 

In astir large municipality centres, the aforesaid politician and assembly elected for the full metropolis are besides liable for h2o and sewage. There are a fewer exceptions wherever a fig of municipalities oversee services, similar the Montreal Agglomeration Council oregon the Regional Municipality of Peel, but they are dominated by 1 oregon 2 cities, and person astir 25 directors. 

Metro Vancouver's 41 directors from 21 municipalities (along with a typical from the Tsawwassen First Nation and the UBC-dominated lands of Electoral Area A) is simply a unsocial carnal for delivering inferior services, the flip broadside of allowing idiosyncratic areas of the Lower Mainland to clasp their ain section government.

The question the Deloitte reappraisal volition person to efficaciously regularisation connected is whether it tin inactive nutrient effectual and concentrated oversight for inferior services or if different exemplary is needed.

"It's precise complex, but astatine the aforesaid time, if you instrumentality the clip to excavation successful and afloat understand, I deliberation it's precise manageable," said Hurley.  

"But we person to compromise, and we person to spot everyone else's constituent of view. And I deliberation it's go a challenge."

If Deloitte thinks otherwise? The eventual decision, then, would not prevarication with Metro Vancouver, but with the provincial government. 

"When it's convenient, the state truly tries to divorcement itself from immoderate engagement that they person successful this," said West.

"All of these large issues close present astir who Metro Vancouver is? At the extremity of the day, it's going to beryllium the provincial authorities having to marque a alteration if there's going to beryllium a change."