Tri-Cities Election 2026: Traffic congestion, highrise towers remain key campaign priorities

It's election day in the Tri-cities as voters head to the polls to choose who will lead them for the next four years. Campaign signs in Port Coquitlam are pictured along Coast Meridian Road. Photo by Jason Payne /PNG

Article content

It’s election day in Port Moody, Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam as voters head to the polls to choose who will lead them for the next four years.

Article content

For everything you need to know about how and when to vote in the Tri-Cities’ municipal election, click HERE.

Article content

Article content

If you’re still undecided on who to vote for, check out our preview story about the major issues and priorities within the Tri-Cities.

Article content

Article content

Then follow along our live-blog HERE throughout the day and night for the latest election day news from across the Metro Vancouver region, and check back here where we’ll keep this post updated all night with Tri-Cities election results and reaction.

Article content

Article content

Article content

Voters in the Tri-Cities area — one of Metro Vancouver’s fastest growing areas — will be deciding on a new mayor in Coquitlam today, and whether to keep incumbents in Port Moody and Port Coquitlam or go for someone different.

Article content

The Tri-Cities is an informal grouping of Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody. As the population soars, these cities face common challenges related to housing, traffic congestion and crime that mayoral candidates are campaigning to fix.

Article content

It’s a three-way race in Coquitlam to replace retiring mayor Richard Stewart, a stalwart who has served in the role for nearly two decades.

Article content

Will voters in Port Coquitlam stick with mayor Brad West, who went unchallenged in the last election, or choose one of the two local businessmen running against him?

Article content

And, it’s expected to be a heated battle in Port Moody, where the city’s first female mayor, Meghan Lahti, is being challenged by one-term city councillor Haven Lurbiecki.

Article content

Article content

The top issues in the smallest of the three cities are real estate development and congestion.

Article content

Article content

With a population of just over 39,000, and where the province has set housing targets, Port Moody is often bumper-to-bumper with traffic congestion. Here residents tend to be either for or against expanding that population.

Article content

While Lahti has favoured growth and development, Lubreicki has taken a stance against it, in particular the plan to build more residential towers.

Article content

City council earlier this year approved two of the city’s largest towers yet at 39 storeys. Lubriecki voted against the plan, which is to be built near the Moody Centre SkyTrain station.

Article content

Lahti said the plan will bring high-density development to SkyTrain stations and create community revitalization while Lubriecki argues it was fast-tracked without a dedicated community consultation process.

Article content

This campaign, Lahti has pledged to ease traffic congestion and build more seniors housing. Part of this plan includes widening the Barnet overpass and increasing lane capacity, and adding a rush-hour lane to St. Johns Street.