NWP ready to govern on Day One with 100-day plan

New Westminster, B.C. (September 20, 2026) — The New Westminster Progressives are ready to govern.

Today, the NWP launched Ready to Govern: Our First 100 Days, a plan setting out 15 actions a NWP Council will begin immediately after being elected, focused on tax relief, safer streets, cleaner neighbourhoods, stronger core services and practical fixes residents can see.

“New Westminster’s challenges will not be solved in 100 days, but the direction of City Hall can change on Day One,” says Daniel Fontaine, NWP candidate for mayor. “A NWP Council will arrive ready to govern, ready to work with City staff and ready to deliver practical change residents can see.”

The first 100 days will include immediate action to cut the 3.5% electricity climate tax, refocus the 2027 budget on affordability and core services, freeze mayor, council and senior executive pay, launch an independent core services review, begin hiring 12 new community enforcement and safety officers, clean up and repair neighbourhoods, restore meaningful citizen advisory committees, cancel the $500,000 rebranding project, move the waterfront pier rebuild forward, strengthen city–schools coordination, cut red tape at City Hall, kickstart the Columbia District, tackle New Westminster’s 20 worst traffic bottlenecks, renew action on train noise and redirect $90,000 from the Sue Big Oil class-action lawsuit to local climate action.

“Frontline City employees will be essential to delivering this change,” Fontaine adds. “We will work with them to rebuild a City Hall focused on excellent core services, respect for taxpayers and measurable results.”

The plan:

1. Cut the 3.5% electricity climate tax. Deliver immediate relief for New Westminster households and businesses.
2. Put affordability back into the budget. Get the 2027 budget underway with a renewed focus on affordability and core services, including an immediate 10% reduction in consultant spending — putting the City on track to cut consultant costs by at least 20% within two years.
3. Freeze mayor, council and senior executive pay. Immediately freeze mayor, council and senior executive pay until we get our fiscal house back in order.
4. Launch an independent core services review. Determine what City Hall must do, should do and should stop doing — protecting frontline services while finding savings through better processes, technology, attrition and redeployment.
5. Cancel the Sue Big Oil campaign. Cancel the city’s $90,000 bill to participate in the Sue Big Oil class-action lawsuit, and reinvest savings into local climate action such as urban tree planting and enhanced Queensborough flood protection.
6. Start hiring 12 new community enforcement and safety officers. Increase visible foot and bicycle patrols in neighbourhoods and commercial districts.
7. Clean up and repair our neighbourhoods. Accelerate graffiti removal and street cleaning, begin installing 100 new waste and recycling receptacles, start priority sidewalk repairs and launch a street-tree planting plan.
8. Give residents their voice back. Replace the Community Advisory Assembly with focused, meaningful citizen advisory committees so residents have a real voice before major decisions are made.
9. Make New West the Royal City again. Cancel the wasteful $500,000 rebranding project and redirect those resources to priorities residents can see and feel.
10. Get the waterfront pier rebuild moving. Put a clear repair plan, construction timeline and funding strategy before Council.
11. Get the City and schools working together again. Enhance formal City–Schools coordination so growth, schools, childcare, recreation and community infrastructure are better planned together.
12. Cut red tape at City Hall. Launch the Red Tape Reduction Task Force and Permit Concierge to make City Hall easier to navigate for residents, builders and businesses.
13. Kickstart the Columbia District. Begin delivering at least 10 new micro-retail opportunities, eliminate patio permit fees and launch a business-led push to attract new restaurants, employers and investment.
14. Tackle our 20 worst traffic bottlenecks. Identify the problem locations and begin developing practical fixes involving signal timing, intersections and traffic flow.
15. Take action on train noise. Re-establish the Railway Community Advisory Panel and renew the push for additional quiet zones and more livable neighbourhoods.

By Day 100:

• Tax relief will have begun.
• A stronger community safety presence will be underway.
• The 2027 budget will be focused on affordability and core services.
• Residents will have a stronger voice at City Hall.
• Work will be moving on traffic, train noise, neighbourhood improvements, local climate action and the waterfront pier.
• The Columbia District revitalization will be underway.

“We will not accomplish everything in 100 days,” Fontaine says. “But nobody will wonder whether change has begun.”

Ready to govern. Ready to get to work.

The NWP is running a team of 13 candidates for New Westminster city council and school board in the upcoming municipal election. The NWP’s platform is informed by ongoing conversations with residents through New West City Matters, the party’s community listening initiative.

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