Barriere residents to elect new mayor, councillor on March 1

BARRIERE B.C. — Residents in Barriere will head to the polls in a little over a month’s time to elect their new mayor and a new councillor.

The March 1 by-election is being held to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of former Mayor Ward Stamer, who was elected as the MLA for Kamloops-North Thompson in October’s provincial election.

Stamer, who was serving his second term as Barriere mayor, resigned on Oct. 21, two days after he was elected. At the time, Stamer was on a leave of absence to focus on his provincial election campaign for the BC Conservatives.

There are two candidates in the running to fill Stamer’s seat — former councillor Rob Kerslake, who has been serving as acting mayor for the past few months, and Bill Humphreys.

There are three candidates — Stephen Boylan, former councillor Alan Fortin and Brody Mosdell — who are running for the council seat created by Kerslake’s resignation. Kerslake was required under the Local Government Act to step down as he is running for mayor.

Fortin, who served on Barriere council between 2014 and 2022., was unsuccessful in his bid for re-election during the last municipal election in Oct. 2022.

Nominations for the two vacancies will be accepted until 4:00 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 24.

Residents will then have two advanced voting opportunities — on Saturday, Feb. 15 and on Wednesday Feb, 19. Polls will be open between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. on both those days.

The successful candidates will serve a little under two years in office, with the next municipal election in B.C. scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 17, 2026

For more on the upcoming by-election in Barriere, go here.