ELECTION daY
today!
AFC Victoria is a local chapter of Apartheid Free Communities (AFC), working to designate the City of Victoria as apartheid-free, grounded in justice, equality, and solidarity with the Palestinian people.
We asked every municipal candidate running in Victoria and Saanich to record their position on our Vote Palestine Victoria and Teach Palestine Greater Victoria Platforms ahead of the October 17, 2026 election.
For over 75 years, the Palestinian people have endured violent displacement, systemic oppression and apartheid, and an ongoing settler-colonial project legitimized as the state of Israel. The struggle for the liberation of Palestine is a global imperative, intertwined with broader struggles against racism, imperialism, and colonialism worldwide.
We believe voters deserve to know whether their local candidates are committed to building an apartheid-free city aligned with the liberation of Palestine and the self-determination of Indigenous peoples locally and globally.
VOTE PALESTINE VICTORIA PLATFORM
The Vote Palestine Victoria demands for municipal candidates are a commitment to:
1 Sign the Apartheid Free Community Victoria Pledge, and affirm the intention to work with colleagues and community members to designate Victoria as an Apartheid Free city as councils in Burnaby, Duncan, and Powell River already have;
2 Review municipal procurement and business permits for any suppliers, operators, or subcontractors on the Boycott, Divest, Sanction (BDS) list, and work to ensure the City of Victoria excludes such suppliers from public procurement or operation, and from sponsoring municipal or other public events;
3 Oppose officials and staff in city government from travelling to Israel, and from attending events or meetings associated with or organized by the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) and other lobby groups or institutions that promote the state of Israel, and to work to ensure the City of Victoria adopts a policy officially prohibiting same; and
4 Pursue the adoption and integration of the ACLA’s definition of anti-Palestinian racism (APR) across all city policies, codes of conduct, and social justice initiatives, and refute the politically-motivated IHRA definition of anti-semitism that conflates anti-Zionism and criticism of the state of Israel with anti-semitism.
Candidate Responses
CITY OF VICTORIA Mayor (8 Candidates, 1 Seat)
Candidate Responses
CITY OF VICTORIA Councillor (21 Candidates, 8 Seats)
DISTRICT OF SAANICH COUNCIL
Our demands for Saanich municipal candidates mirror those of our Vote Palestine Victoria platform.
Candidate Responses
DISTRICT OF SAANICH Mayor (4 Candidates, 1 Seat)
*We note that this candidate's publicly-stated platform has elements that contradict the spirit of our platform. Although they responded affirmatively to some of our demands, we are deeply concerned about implicit anti-Indigenous rhetoric in their campaign platform that is offensive and dangerous.
Candidate Responses
District of Saanich Councillor (27 Candidates, 8 Seats)
RUNNING
Finn Fairbairn
FULL Platform Commitment
finnfairbairn4saanich@gmail.com
INCUMBENT
Judy Brownoff
No Response
jbrownoff@telus.net