Metro Vancouver seeks smaller board and new major-project oversight

Metro Vancouver Regional District has approved a plan to seek provincial permission to reduce its board of directors from 45 members to 34 beginning with the next term. The proposed model would cap each member municipality or jurisdiction at three directors while retaining weighted voting based on population.

The regional district says every member jurisdiction would retain representation, and that a smaller board could make deliberations and decisions more efficient. Board chair and Burnaby Mayor Mike Hurley said the preferred option would preserve proportional representation while responding to calls for meaningful governance change.

The change requires the Province of B.C. to amend either the Local Government Act or the Municipalities Enabling and Validating Act. Metro Vancouver says the required provincial consultation and legislative process could take up to two years. If approved, the same representation model would also apply to the boards responsible for regional drinking water, sewerage and drainage, and housing.

The proposal followed Deloitte's May 2025 governance review. Metro Vancouver says it has completed 24 of the review's 47 recommendations and has another 14 underway. During consultation this spring with elected officials, municipal staff, provincial representatives, local First Nations and the public, the three-director cap received the broadest support.

The regional district is also developing a Major Projects Oversight Board for its largest and most complex water and wastewater works. It would combine elected municipal representatives with externally appointed members who have technical and professional experience delivering major infrastructure. Details are expected to return to the board in coming months.

The additional oversight comes amid major cost pressures on regional infrastructure. The estimated cost to complete the North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant has risen from about $700 million to $3.86 billion, with completion now targeted for 2030. An independent review announced after litigation with the former contractor ended is expected to report publicly in early 2027. Metro Vancouver is also considering a staged consolidation of its four sewerage service areas into one regional area, though a future cost-sharing arrangement has not been determined.