THE TALK OF THE TOWN

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What Do We Have For You This Month?

Welcome to “The Talk of The Town” for September, 2024. Click on the following links to find:

  • West End News & Notes: Candidates starting to line up for both this October’s provincial election and next year’s federal race, and the West End Community Centre Association’s Fall Recreation Guide is out, and registration now open.

  • West End Moments: The West End is home to many great photographers, amateur and professional. Each month we feature a selection of great images.

  • The West End & Coal Harbour In The News: In case you missed it, here’s a roundup of links to media news items about the West End - Coal Harbour neighbourhoods.

West End News & Notes

ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL(S)
Candidates Named For Provincial & Federal Elections

The provincial election, this October 19, is on the near horizon, and there will also be a federal race in the next year and a bit — on October 20, 2025 at the latest — unless Prime Minister Justin Trudeau calls a snap election in the interim.

Jon Ellacott is the conservative canddate running against Spencer Chandra Herbert in the October 9 provincial election.

WEST END - COAL HARBOUR … On the provincial front, in July the Conservative Party of British announced Jon Ellacott as their candidate in the October 19 provincial election, to run against Spencer Chandra Herbert in Vancouver West End - Coal Harbour. Ellacott also ran against Chandra Herbert in the 2020 election under the Liberal Party banner, receiving 4,014 votes to Chandra Herbert's 12,439.

In response to an inquiry from The West End Journal about his connections to the West End, Ellacotte replied: “Like the current Vancouver West End and Coal Harbor MLA, I do not live in the riding - and I cannot afford to under the NDP. Unlike the current MLA though, I do not maintain a rental property in the neighborhood.

“My connections to the neighborhood are via previous residency and previous advocacy, as well as my previous 2020 provincial election run. And with that said, I am thrilled to be able to represent the community and our constituents again!”

Ellacott confirmed he currently lives in Burnaby in a subsequent email.

“Ellacott is a Vancouver construction manager and small business owner. Throughout his life he has had the honour and opportunity to spend time working for British Columbians; constructing much needed social, industrial and commercial infrastructure. This path has led Jon to become an advocate for development and construction reform - looking to serve our great province with effective affordable housing solutions while cutting red tape and streamlining regulatory creep,” according to his bio on the Conservative Party of British Columbia website.

UPDATE SINCE PUBLICATION: The provincial Green Party has announced that Eoin O'Dwyer will be their candidate in West End-Coal Harbour in the provincial election, competing with incumbent MLA Spencer Chandra Herbert and Conservative candidate Jon Ellacott.

According to the party website O'Dwyer is a renter, a web developer, and a nine-year resident of the West End.

ALL CANDIDATES FORUM: The West End Community Centre will hold an all-candidates meeting at the Denman Street centre on October 8. Follow The West End Journal’s Facebook page for further details.

VANCOUVER CENTRE … Getting a head-start on the federal election campaign, the NDP have announced that their candidate for Vancouver Centre, currently held by Liberal MP Dr. Hedy Fry, will be filmmaker and climate activist Avi Lewis, who currently teaches at the University of British Columbia.

Avi Lewis will carry the NDP banner in the 2025 federal election.

In May 2021, Lewis was nominated as the federal NDP's candidate for West Vancouver - Sunshine Coast. He came in third behind incumbent Liberal Patrick Weiler and Conservative John Weston, with 16,265 votes to Weiler’s 21,500.

Lewis is married to author and activist Naomi Klein, with whom he collaborated collaborated on The Take, a documentary that detailed the “recovered factory” movement in Argentina. He directed the 2015 feature-length documentary This Changes Everything, which finished second in audience voting in the documentary category at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival.

The NDP media centre has not responded to requests for information as to where Lewis currently resides.

There has been no announcement from the Liberals as to whether Fry, who was first elected in 1993 and will be 85 at the time of the next election call, will stand for another term. The West End Journal has received no response from the Green and Conservative parties to inquiries about their plans.

YOUR FALL RECREATION GUIDE
Registration Now Open

The West End Community Centre Association’s (WECCA) Fall 2024 Recreation Guide is now out and registration in person and online is open.

WECCA manages the West End Community Centre on Denman, the Coal Harbour Community Centre on Broughton, and Barclay Manor on Barclay. The quarterly Recreation Guide lists programs and events for all three centres.

Be sure to register for classes early as space is limited and they do fill up fast. If you have any questions about any of the programs, drop by the centre nearest you and speak to a staff member.

The printed guide is available at all three centres and other community coffee shops and facilities. You can find a downloadable version of the guide here, and register for programs online here or in person at your nearest centre.

West End Moments

The West End & Coal Harbour In The News

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If you have a business in the West End / Coal Harbour neighbourhood, check out our advertising rates and information page here.

Thank you!
Kevin Dale McKeown
Editor & Publisher
editor@thewestendjournal.ca