Gambier Island

Howe Sound · Islands Trust Local Trust Area

Gambier Island has its own site

Visit gambiertown.org → for public records and the petition to make Gambier Island a town.

A largely roadless Howe Sound island with summer camps and recreation properties under its own Local Trust Committee.

2026 trustee election

Official winners declared. Andrew Roots: 117 votes (declared elected); Joe Bernardo: 106 votes (declared elected); Jordan Nobel: 105 votes; Sam Wing: 98 votes; Colin Cooper: 60 votes. Chief Election Officer Sherry Reid declares Joe Bernardo and Drew Roots elected. The Trust lists Drew Roots as Andrew Roots. Vote totals are from the Trust’s preliminary table. Results checked on 1 November 2026 against the Trust’s October 22 confirmation release. The twelve local trust areas have confirmed elected or acclaimed trustees. Bowen’s municipal appointments remain pending until November 9. Candidate vote totals and confirmation of the winners are separate records. Trustees are scheduled to be sworn in on November 12.

Sunshine Coast Regional District, official declaration, 20 October 2026

Public-record check · 1 November 2026

Shoreline guidelines remain a consultation draft

The August 5 draft minutes describe proposed shoreline development permit area guidelines. Staff described a proposed 30-metre buffer as an area of interest, rather than a new setback or guaranteed public access. The minutes say an engagement summary is expected in early 2027 and written comments can be received through year-end. This record does not establish adoption of the guidelines.

Gambier draft special-meeting minutes, August 5, pages 2 and 7

The incoming Trust Council

The Trust’s October 22 release confirms the elected or acclaimed trustees for the twelve local trust areas. Bowen’s municipal appointments remain pending until November 9. Trustees are scheduled to be sworn in on November 12, with inaugural Council meetings on November 13 and 14. The current term and the incoming term are distinct.

Trustee confirmation release, October 22

Ferry funding: the federal response

In an October 27 letter to the Trust, the federal Transport Minister describes the existing coastal ferry subsidy agreement. The letter puts the 2026–27 grant to British Columbia at approximately $38.6 million and says the Province determines which ferry services receive assistance. It directs questions about fares and service costs to the Province. This is a response about existing arrangements, rather than an announcement of a new local ferry service or fare reduction.

Federal Transport Minister’s response, October 27, pages 1–2

Other local votes · checked 21 October

The SCRD’s signed October 20 declaration also names Kate-Louise Stamford elected by acclamation as Electoral Area F, West Howe Sound, director. That is a regional-district office, separate from the Gambier Trust seats.

SCRD, signed official director declaration, October 20

This is a dated status check, not a full re-audit of every bylaw.

Current trustees

  • Laura Patrick — Chair
  • Joe Bernardo — Trustee
  • Kate Louise Stamford — Trustee

Past trustee elections

2022: Gambier Islands Trust councillor election

2 seats available

CandidateVotesResult
Kate-Louise Stamford—Acclaimed
Joe Bernardo—Acclaimed

Source: CivicInfo BC 2022 Local Election Results

CivicInfo elected-official report verifies elected trustees and vote totals. Non-elected/opponent rows are pending a separate official results source before publication.

The archive

260 Islands Trust meeting documents on record. Each links to its exact source.

Documented examples

  • All Veto, No Toolbox: Gambier's Duplicate Government — Gambier Island, a Howe Sound community of roughly 150 year-round residents with no central road network, carries a full second layer of government — two elected trustees, Islands Trust planning staff, an Advisory Planning Commission, and provision for a Board of Variance — that holds veto power over land use but could only write letters when the island needed a dock repaired or internet delivered. Its flagship "targeted" bylaw review has run since September 2022 and was still in public consultation in mid-2026, with no adopted bylaw and a survey deadline of August 31, 2026.