Running for mayor of Squamish
3 people are running for mayor in the October 17, 2026 election: Daniel Deal, Sean Easton, Jenna Stoner. You vote for one. Here they are side by side, in alphabetical order.
Daniel Deal
Sean Easton
Jenna StonerDaniel Deal
34-year-old who grew up in Courtice, Ontario and works as an information systems analyst in the carbon capture industry; previous jobs include labourer, rebar rodman, crane operator apprentice, facility manager and environmental remediation operator, including time on Fort McMurray oil sands projects. The Squamish Chief reports he has a construction management degree. He says he chose to move to Squamish and at one point lived out of a small car between rentals; his site does not say what year he arrived.
A Better Deal for Squamish
Supports, among other things:
- A one-year moratorium (pause) on property tax increases in his first year as mayor [source]
- District-owned, communal-style workforce housing so people who work in Squamish can get a foothold [source]
- Speeding up municipal approvals to reduce delays that drive up housing costs [source]
- A wider range of housing: rentals, townhomes, apartments and starter homes [source]
Sean Easton
Co-Executive Director of Zero Ceiling, a Whistler-based non-profit working to end youth homelessness (he took on leadership in 2017), and co-founder of DWIFT Housing Society, a Squamish non-profit aiming to sell homes at cost. He arrived in Squamish in 2011 as a whitewater rafting guide, later trained as a youth worker, co-built the multi-generational 'Heart House' with family, and recently launched the engagement collective Residents United.
A Squamish You Can Afford
Supports, among other things:
- Freezing property taxes for 2027 [source]
- Creating housing that locals can afford throughout their lives, including home ownership through non-profit models like DWIFT [source]
- Using public land for non-profit affordable housing: DWIFT submitted an expression of interest to buy part of the District's Pioneer Way land for permanently affordable housing rather than have it sold to a private developer (the Dec. 2 delegation urging council to reserve the land was made by Zero Ceiling co-executive director Lizi McLoughlin) [source]
- New accessible recreation: a splash park, indoor playground and fitness centre (in his WLNG op-ed he says the need he hears most often is a second sheet of ice, updated pool facilities and improved change rooms) [source]
Jenna Stoner
Current councillor. Two-term councillor (elected 2018, re-elected 2022). Outside council she has about 15 years' experience in sustainable fisheries and aquaculture at the intersection of business, government and environmental conservation (in 2022 she worked for Sustainable Fisheries Partnership); holds a Master of Marine Management (Dalhousie) and a BSc (UVic). Born in Squamish and raised in the Sea to Sky corridor, she moved back in 2014 and is raising two children here; a former Squamish Climate Action Network board member (2016-2018).
Squamish is evolving. Let's shape what comes next, together.
Supports, among other things:
- Moving the District to , accounting for every dollar from zero instead of rolling budgets over [source]
- Sees an opportunity to reorient developer (recently focused on childcare and affordable housing) toward Brennan Park and cultural facilities [source]
- Supportive and bridge housing: backed the 65-unit Government Road lease and pushed for public answers on the BC Housing proposal [source]
- Would consider a mayor's task force on the unhoused and street disorder (Downtown BIA, RCMP, bylaw, residents and others) [source]
Issue by issue
🏗️ Growth & development
- Daniel Deal: Don’t slow approvals; fill in existing neighbourhoods first, expand the later [source]
- Sean Easton: Growing too fast: slow approvals until infrastructure catches up; judge each project on what it delivers [source]
- Jenna Stoner: Leans against slowing approvals; six storeys downtown and near transit, but leans against going taller; make better use of what’s built before opening new land [source]
🏠 Housing affordability
- Daniel Deal: Strongly for more public money and land for homes, and a required share in big projects [source]
- Sean Easton: Strongly for more public money and land, and a bigger required share of homes; resident-restricted ownership [source]
- Jenna Stoner: Strongly for more public money and land for homes, and a required share in big projects; case by case on selling District land [source]
🤝 Homelessness & supportive housing
- Daniel Deal: Against clearing camps with nowhere to go; points to on Government Road; wants the Province to pay [source]
- Sean Easton: Build the Pioneer Way and and Home ; against clearing camps with nowhere to go [source]
- Jenna Stoner: Strongly for more shelter and , and against moving or clearing camps with nowhere to go [source]
🚓 Policing & community safety
- Daniel Deal: Against funding more RCMP; strongly for mental-health crisis teams; a community task force to free up bylaw staff
- Sean Easton: In the middle on more RCMP and bylaw officers; strongly for crisis teams; hold everyone to the law, with services
- Jenna Stoner: Strongly for mental-health crisis teams; leans toward more RCMP and bylaw officers, working alongside outreach [source]
💵 Taxes & spending
- Daniel Deal: Strongly for holding taxes to inflation; against the Woodfibre tax deal; referendums on big projects [source]
- Sean Easton: Freeze property taxes for 2027; against the Woodfibre tax deal as written; pay for Brennan Park through industry, not debt [source]
- Jenna Stoner: Leans against capping taxes at inflation — instead; strongly for borrowing to renew Brennan Park now [source]
🌲 Climate, environment & the LNG plant
- Daniel Deal: Against the 10-year Woodfibre tax deal; against pressing the plant through permits [source]
- Sean Easton: Use every tool to protect health, air and water from Woodfibre LNG; climate a priority, but not at residents’ short-term cost [source]
- Jenna Stoner: Moved the motion to reject the Woodfibre tax deal; leans toward pressing the plant through permits; climate action a top priority [source]
🚌 Transportation & transit
- Daniel Deal: Against spending local money on bike lanes ahead of recreation; in the middle on regional transit [source]
- Sean Easton: For regional transit if senior governments pay their share; pause new bike-lane spending until residents are consulted [source]
- Jenna Stoner: Strongly for regional transit, and for local money for bike lanes and sidewalks [source]
🅿️ Parking
- Daniel Deal: Build more downtown parking; against paid parking — if it comes, locals park free [source]
- Sean Easton: Build a parkade; paid parking for visitors, free for locals; a moratorium on parking
- Jenna Stoner: Leans toward paid parking downtown, with residents free; leans against requiring parking in new buildings and against building a parkade [source]
💼 Jobs & local economy
- Daniel Deal: Strongly for cutting red tape; protect industrial land; bring back business incentives [source]
- Sean Easton: Strongly for cutting red tape, with a common-sense approach [source]
- Jenna Stoner: In the middle on cutting red tape — wants a public permit tracker instead; leans toward protecting industrial land [source]
Agree or disagree?
| Statement | Daniel Deal | Sean Easton | Jenna Stoner |
|---|---|---|---|
| Squamish is growing too fast. Council should slow the pace of new development approvals. | Strongly disagrees | Strongly agrees | Somewhat disagrees |
| Taller buildings (above 6 storeys) should be allowed downtown and near transit and services. | Somewhat disagrees | In the middle | Somewhat disagrees |
| Squamish should open new land and new neighbourhoods for housing, rather than adding density to existing ones. | In the middle | Somewhat disagrees | Somewhat disagrees |
| The District should put more public money and land into non-market and below-market housing. | Strongly agrees | Strongly agrees | Strongly agrees |
| Squamish needs more shelter and supportive-housing spaces, even if they are located near residential areas. | In the middle | Somewhat agrees | Strongly agrees |
| Squamish should fund more RCMP officers and policing. | Somewhat disagrees | In the middle | Somewhat agrees |
| Keeping property tax increases at or below inflation should be a top priority, even if it means cutting services or delaying projects. | Strongly agrees | Strongly agrees | Somewhat disagrees |
| The District should sign the proposed 10-year tax agreement with Woodfibre LNG. | Strongly disagrees | Strongly disagrees | Strongly disagrees |
| The District should use its permit powers to press Woodfibre LNG on local impacts, even if that means delays or legal fights. | Somewhat disagrees | Somewhat agrees | Somewhat agrees |
| Climate action should be a top council priority, even when it adds cost. | No position found | Somewhat agrees | Strongly agrees |
| The District should cut red tape and speed up permits for builders and businesses. | Strongly agrees | Strongly agrees | In the middle |
| Regional transit to Vancouver and Whistler is worth spending local tax dollars on. | In the middle | Somewhat agrees | Strongly agrees |
| New buildings should have to provide enough parking for the people who live there, instead of being approved with less. | Strongly agrees | Strongly agrees | Somewhat disagrees |
| Major recreation investments, like renewing Brennan Park, should go ahead even if the District has to borrow. | Somewhat disagrees | Somewhat agrees | Strongly agrees |
| The Under One Roof shelter and its services should be moved out of downtown. | No position found | In the middle | Strongly disagrees |
| The District should clear tent encampments from public spaces, even when there is nowhere else for those people to go. | Strongly disagrees | Strongly disagrees | Strongly disagrees |
| Spending on inclusion and community symbols — such as rainbow crosswalks, flags and proclamations — is a good use of District money. | Somewhat agrees | In the middle | Strongly agrees |