Vancouver Rundown

A tough, unpopular budget. That’s the strong hint from Victoria as the B.C. government gets set to deliver its provincial budget Tuesday. Finance Minister Brenda Bailey says tough decisions have to be made but there will not be any cuts to core services. The Eby government has delivered three deficits in a row and nearly doubled the provincial debt in as many years. The BCGEU reached a contract deal with the government last fall that gives public sector workers a 3 per cent wage increase in each year. The BC Teachers Federation is said to be very close to...

I carry a sorrow - that’s what the father of the Tumbler Ridge shooter is saying following the mass shooting in the north eastern B.C. community. Justin Van Rootselaar says “words feel far too small for the sorrow we carry together.” He’s offered his condolences to the families and loved ones of the victims. Nine people, including shooter Jesse Van Rootselaar died in the shootings at his family home and Tumbler Ridge Secondary.

Hundreds of people have attended a Wednesday evening candlelight vigil in Tumbler Ridge - the north eastern B.C. community rocked by a mass shooting Tuesday afternoon. Eighteen-year-old Jesse Van Rootselaar’s victim’s include the shooter’s mother and stepbrother - killed at home - and five students and an educator who were shot dead at Tumbler Ridge Secondary. Van Rootselaar later died by suicide. More than two dozen others are still recovering from various wounds. Premier David Eby promises he’ll get answers to questions about the shooter’s mental health and police interaction history. Thursday has been decla...

At least ten people, including a suspect, are dead after a mass shooting in the north eastern B.C. community of Tumbler Ridge. More than two dozen others are injured - some seriously. RCMP say six people were found dead inside Tumbler Ridge Secondary School while another died enroute to hospital. It’s believed the suspect died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. That part of the mass shooting happened during school hours on Tuesday and shortly after two people were found dead at a nearby home. Unconfirmed reports suggest the two are family members of the suspect. An alert, is...

The B.C. Greens are ending their co-operation agreement with the Eby NDP government. Green Leader Emily Lowen says the move comes after the New Democrats failed to follow through on two thirds of their promises made during the Co-operation and Responsible Government Accord (CARGA). This leave the NDP vulnerable as it governs with a single seat majority. It’s also sparked a new round of speculation about a possible provincial election call.

Fewer and fewer drivers are crossing the border into Washington state from Lower Mainland crossings. According to the Whatcom Council of Governments, January had a 32 per cent drop in southbound trips over the same month last year at the Peace Arch, Pacific Highway, Lynden and Huntingdon-Sumas crossings. Close to half of the 60 Bellingham area businesses surveyed report losses due to a decline in B.C. visitors. Many call the drop - devastating. Experts blame the decline on outrage over the Trump White House’s policies on both domestic and international issues, including tariffs.

The debt riddled B.C. government is getting ready to offer early retirement incentives to public servants. The BC Public Service Agency says each ministry is looking to find efficiencies which could require restructuring or consolidation. The review comes as the province struggles to control its $11.2B deficit. A hiring freeze remains in place in certain areas of government.

Former anti-gang cop Paul Dadwal will lead B.C.’s community panel on extortions. The move comes following the provincial government’s promise to crack down on South Asian extortion violence in Surrey and other communities. Dadwal is recently retired from the RCMP and now works as a private security consultant. He was a key figure in the Surrey Six investigation and trial.

A teen is recovering from serious injuries after being stabbed following a Vancouver high school basketball game. Vancouver Police say a boy was stabbed in the arm after an overtime playoff game against Killarney Secondary, hosted by Eric Hamber Secondary. Police are reviewing video. No arrests have been made.

Two junior hockey players from B.C. are among those killed in a triple fatal highway crash in Alberta. The Southern Alberta Mustangs have lost three teen players including Kamloops 18-year-olds J.J. Wright and Cameron Casorso. Caden Fine, a 17-year-old American born player, was also killed when a car and semi collided on Highway 2, 125 km south of Calgary, late Monday morning. They were enroute to a team practice when the crash happened. The Mustangs are one of six Alberta teams that play in The U.S. Premier Hockey League’s Tier III division.

Thousands of people marched through downtown Vancouver Sunday in support of Iranian protestors. Police say close to 15,000 people gathered around the Vancouver Art Galley - their main demand is an end to Iran’s current Islamic regime. This latest rally comes as people across Canada and around the world show support for those in Iran, many of whom are being persecuted for showing opposition to the government.

B.C. Premier David Eby says Albertan separatists who went to Washington D.C. are ‘engaging in treason.’ That statement is being blasted by many politicians including Alberta Premier Daniel Smith who says she won’t demonize the nearly one million people in her province who are open to separation. Eby is backing up his treason remark saying the group is going to a foreign country to ask for help in breaking up Canada which is treasonous activity and needs to be called-out and stopped. The group Stay Free Alberta is trying to get 178,000 signatures to force a vote on sep...

Much of the B.C. South Coast is under a rainfall warning as a warm, wet front hits the province. Yellow alerts are posted and areas including Vancouver, the North Shore, Burnaby, Coquitlam and Maple Ridge. They could be hit by 120mm of rain by Friday. High winds are also expected with gusts of up to 90 km/h possible. The warning comes at the end of a month that was far dryer and warmer than usual.

BC Green Party Leader Emily Lowan is among those calling for a boycott of Save-On-Foods and other Pattison companies over a possible U.S. real estate deal with ICE. Word of a boycott is spreading on social media after stories surfaced on the weekend reporting a Pattison-owned real estate company may sell a warehouse in Virginia to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. ICE says it hopes to use that warehouse as a processing facility for its operations. Lowan’s boycott call is mixed with an unrelated statement about food prices including those at other Canadian grocery chains.

The basement of a home in Kitsilano has exploded. Vancouver Fire Rescue was called to reports of a building collapse at Macdonald Street and West 6 Avenue just before 6:00 Monday evening - what they found was a fire started by an explosion in the basement of a house. Two people are displaced but there’s no indication of any injuries. The suspected cause is not being reported.

Slow, expensive and not sustainable - those are some of the words being used to describe the workarounds with the ongoing closure of the only bridge linking Westham Island to the rest of Delta and the Lower Mainland. TransLink, which owns the bridge, says damage from a barge strike last week is worse than earlier thought. There is still no word on when the bridge will re-open. Meantime, farmers continue to scramble to get produce to market. The City of Delta has arranged barge service to get some vehicles and farm equipment across the water. Delta is also applying...

Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke is calling on the federal government to appoint an ‘extortion czar’ do deal with her city’s rapid increase in shootings. She says there’s a need for a full-scale national initiative to stop the violence. The call comes as Surrey and other communities continue to deal with an escalation in extortion cases aimed at the South Asian business community and linked to organized crime. Locke says the system is broader than just policing - any mandate should examine weak links in Canada’s criminal, immigration and citizenship systems.

An RCMP remark saying the extortion related violence in Surrey is ‘not a crisis’ has come under fire by Premier David Eby and city leaders. Eby, Mayor Brenda Locke and Councillor Mandeep Nagra are expressing concern after Assistant Commissioner John Brewer denied the issue is a crisis and said those suggestions undermine public confidence amid escalating gun violence. Eby says Brewer might not be the right person to head the extortion task force if he feels that way. Homes and businesses in Surrey are now being hit by extortion-connected gunfire several times a week. On Saturday, those inside a home...

Premier David Eby says B.C. will revise its Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act - or DRIPA - to reduce the power of the courts. Eby has told those attending a Tuesday evening conference in Prince George recent court decisions have caused confusion over the act. He says reconciliation is the business of government to government negotiations and not for the courts to take over. The NDP government has been under pressure from the BC Conservatives to completely repeal the act.

Vancouver International has experienced numerous delays and some cancellations due to the heavy fog that’s blanketed the Lower Mainland. Travelers are being advised to check their flights - both arrivals and departures have been impacted. Periods of fog are expected through Wednesday.

Expect more dense fog around the Lower Mainland and Southern Vancouver Island - a fog advisory remains in place for Monday and Tuesday. A high pressure system is holding moisture near the ground, a continued problem for many drivers in areas like Delta, Surrey, Langley, Abbotsford and Richmond. Weather conditions are expected to change by Wednesday.

A Maple Ridge city councillor is charged with four counts of sexual assault. A special prosecutor has laid the counts against Ahmed Yousef who was first elected to council in 2018. Yousef was forced to step down in May after being charged with other offences including assault and firearms counts. In recent months, Yousef has been active on social media promoting men’s rights in areas of family law. He’s active with the Canadian Centre for Men and Families. In the 2021 federal election, Yousef ran for the Liberals in Pitt Meadows-Maple Ridge but placed a distant third.

B.C. is ending its public drug use pilot project which allowed users to consume small amounts of hard drugs without the fear of arrest. Health Minister Josie Osborne admits it’s clear the project wasn’t working. The provincial government introduced the approach, three years ago, as a way to reduce the stigma while encouraging drug users to get treatment. Critics have complained about an increase in needles found in public places such as school yards and beaches.

A man has been found shot dead on a rural property in South Surrey. Surrey Police say they were called to the property on 176 Street near 36 Avenue during the noon hour on Tuesday. A burned vehicle was later discovered a few blocks away. There are no obvious links between this shooting and other recent violence in the area.

It’s Science World meets the Vancouver Aquarium - that’s how some people are describing a newly announced 49M revamp of North Vancouver’s Capilano River Hatchery. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans is rebuilding the facility, originally built in 1971. The new hatchery will be brought to seismic standards while continuing to serve as the flagship of the Pacific salmon enhancement program. The hatchery has been an iconic tourist and education attraction for millions of visitors since its inception.

An evacuation alert has been issued by the Fraser Valley Regional District for parts of the Chilliwack River Valley. People have been told to by ready to leave the area due to concerns over possible flooding. The alert comes as much of the B.C. Lower Mainland and South Coast remain under a heavy rainfall warning - a yellow alert. Up to 150 mm of rain is expected in some areas by Monday night as the region continues to get hit by an atmospheric river.

B.C. faces the prospects of weak financial growth in 2026 according to a new report by Deloitte Canada. The forecast is for 1.6 GDP growth as the province’s forestry sector continues to struggle. That comes despite an expected increase in LNG exports tied to the new terminal project in Prince Rupert. Alberta and Saskatchewan are each expected to have 2.1 per cent GDP growth. Overall, Canada’s growth is expected to be 1.5 per cent as the country struggles with U.S. tariffs.

Say goodbye to the London Drugs location on Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. The B.C. based chain says it’s closing the iconic Woodward’s location at the end of the month due to ongoing problems with crime and violence. President and CEO Clint Mahlman calls it a very difficult decision, noting the location continues to struggle. He says there’s a transition plan for staff. The location has lost more than $10M in its 15 years at the site of the old Woodward’s department store.

Refineries, not pipelines! That’s what B.C. Premier David Eby says should be the priority as the U.S. appears poised to takeover Venezuelan oil exports. Eby says if Canada has billions of dollars to spend it should go toward developing oil products for this country and for exports. The premier is holding firm on his opposition to building a new northern pipeline saying Trans Mountain to Burnaby is not at full capacity. Almost 90 per cent of Alberta’s oilsands exports currently go to the U.S.

Most of the South Coast is under a heavy rainfall warning as a system in the Gulf of Alaska heads south. As much as 50mm is expected to fall in some areas on Tuesday. Meanwhile, those on the North Shore mountains are bracing for snow. A snowfall warning is in effect for the Sea-to-Sky Highway for those heading between Squamish and Whistler. Drier weather is expected toward the end of the week.

My thanks to the many loyal readers and podcast listeners and a special thanks to those who have supported this effort through a paid subscription and/or donation. You’ve made Vancouver Rundown a huge success over the past year - reader and listener growth has more than doubled in 2025. Vancouver Rundown is now on a break but will resume publication Tuesday January 6, 2026. Happy Holidays. - Bruce

Boxing Day - that’s the new ‘best guess’ estimate as to when Highway 3 will reopen between Hope and Princeton. Flood-damage will take months to repair but the Ministry of Transportation expects to build a temporary detour in the area with a 30 km/h speed limit. Until Friday, drivers will still have to take Highway 5 to get to the Southern Interior.

Heavy rain, strong winds and even some high elevation snow is expected to continue into the weekend as B.C.’s South Coast copes with more stormy weather. A wind advisory has been posted for eastern parts of the Fraser Valley. Isolated flooding is still possible in areas around the Chilliwack River. Meanwhile, those heading into the B.C. Interior could still find challenges - Highway 3 remains closed between Hope and Manning Park due to flood damage. Snow and blowing snow can be expected on the Coquihalla Highway and parts of Highway One through the Fraser Canyon.

Crews have restored power to tens of thousands of homes and businesses in the Lower Mainland. A windstorm that started Tuesday night and continued into Wednesday morning across southern B.C., knocked out power to close to 120,000 BC Hydro customers. Winds hit over 100 km/h in several areas causing trees and branches to come down on numerous roads and power lines from Vancouver Island through to the West Kootenay.

Meanwhile, all remaining flood evacuation orders have been cancelled in Abbotsford. Those living on Sumas Prairie are now allowed to go home as flooding subsides. The BC River...

Heavy rain that continued into early Wednesday morning is putting a damper on efforts to recover from flooding on the South Coast. Close to 1200 properties remain on evacuation alert - 100 are on evacuation order. While flood waters started to recede in most areas on Tuesday, downpours continued into Tuesday night. Highway 3 remains closed from Hope to Manning Park due to landslide damage. A few thousand BC Hydro customers remain without power after strong winds on Monday and Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the rain swollen Coquihalla River has cut a new channel through the golf course in Hope. Those at...

Close to 90,000 BC Hydro customers were left without power at the height of Monday’s windstorm on the South Coast. About 50,0000 of those were on the Sunshine Coast and Lower Mainland - the rest on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands. The hardest hit areas included parts of Hope, Chilliwack, Langley, Maple Ridge, Duncan, Victoria and Qualicum. At one point, downed tree limbs cut off vehicle access to Fraser Canyon Hospital in Hope.

Meanwhile, a woman is dead after being hit by a falling tree near Chilliwack. RCMP say she was walking with two young children at Is...

More flooding is still possible and Fraser Valley residents are being told to prepare. The impact of a weather system that hit Sunday night is now triggering new concerns about creeks, rivers and low lying areas. Flood warnings remain in place for the Chilliwack and Sumas Rivers and up to 70mm or rain could fall in some areas by the end of Monday. That has police and local governments concerned as areas from Abbotsford east beyond Manning Park continue to recover from last week’s atmospheric river. The Ministry of Emergency Management says drivers and residents need to brace fo...

Highway One has been closed between Whatcom Road and Sumas Way as Abbotsford continues to deal with expanding flood waters from the Nooksack River, south of the border. Detours have been in effect. Even though the torrential rain eased-off on Thursday, new evacuation orders have been issued late Thursday for a few Abbotsford properties including the Clarion Hotel. Close to 1,500 properties on Sumas Prairie remain under an evacuation order.

Meanwhile, two U.S. Coast Guard helicopters have been used to rescue stranded residents in Sumas, Washington, just south of Abbotsford. Those on a MH-60 Jayhawk and a...

Thursday will be an assessment and recovery day after torrential rains caused Fraser Valley flooding and cut three highway routes between the B.C. Interior and the Lower Mainland. Heavy rains triggered a handful of evacuation orders in areas including the Chilliwack River Valley. Evacuation alerts had been issued for other areas including Abbotsford’s Clayburn Village and Sumas Prairie West. Access to the Huntingdon-Sumas border crossing remained closed except for local residents.

Small slides, flooding and hazardous conditions are responsible for closing many of the main out-of-town highways. As of Wednesday night, Highway One had been cl...

Rain and flood advisories have been posted for much of the south coast as stormy weather is expected to continue through Wednesday. The heaviest downpours are expected in eastern parts of the Fraser Valley, Skagit Valley and Manning Park - orange rainfall warnings are in effect and localized flooding is expected. The atmospheric river should ease off by late Wednesday night.