Long record of public service shapes campaign priorities
Longtime Saanich Coun. Susan Brice has declared her intention to seek another term, framing the bid as a continuation of more than two decades of municipal service and a lifetime rooted in the South Island. Brice — a fourth-generation Victorian who first entered public life as a school trustee and later served as mayor of Oak Bay and as a provincial MLA — told reporters her reasons for staying in public office remain the same as when she started.
"I had two little kids and thought that I would get the system whipped into shape before they entered the system," she recalled of her initial decision to run for the school board. "I found that elective service was very satisfying and I felt I could make a difference." Those early experiences, she said, shaped a career that has included work in broadcasting and with the Better Business Bureau before she returned to elected office on the South Island.
Experience across municipal and provincial levels
Brice was first elected to Saanich council in 2005 after a career that included a term as Oak Bay mayor in the late 1980s. She later entered provincial politics, relocating to Saanich to contest the Saanich South riding and defeating New Democrat David Cubberley to become an MLA in 2001. During her time in Victoria, she served as minister of human resources and minister responsible for mental health and addiction services, portfolios she described as "very satisfying but tough."
| Role | Noted period |
|---|---|
| Mayor of Oak Bay | Late 1980s |
| MLA, Saanich South | First elected 2001 |
| Saanich councillor | First elected 2005 — serving continuously (six terms) |
Policy focus: environment, housing and finances
As she campaigns for another term, Brice emphasises a set of local priorities that reflect long-standing municipal concerns: environmental protection, housing, managing harmonious growth and maintaining responsible finances. She told a local outlet these are the issues that initially drove her into public service and remain central to residents.
"The issues that brought me into serving in Saanich are the issues that are important to me but also important to the residents," she said.
Brice’s biography includes work outside elected office that connects to community and business interests: after leaving Oak Bay council she worked as a radio host at CFAX and later became executive director of the Better Business Bureau of Vancouver Island. Those roles, she has said, complemented her political work and informed her approach to local governance.
Continuity and questions for voters
Now a six-term councillor, Brice has been a continuous presence on Saanich council for more than two decades. Her campaign is framed as an offer of experienced stewardship at a time when municipal councils across Greater Victoria are wrestling with pressures from population growth, housing demand and environmental stewardship. For voters, the choice is between continuity and new perspectives; Brice argues her experience equips her to balance competing priorities.
The campaign will test how much weight local voters place on institutional knowledge and steady leadership versus calls for fresh approaches to long-standing problems. With municipal budgets, development approvals and climate-related planning all in play, the outcome will shape Saanich’s direction on issues Brice lists as central to her service.
- Brice first entered elected office as a school board trustee.
- She served as Oak Bay mayor in the late 1980s and as an MLA beginning in 2001.
- She has been a Saanich councillor since 2005 and is currently seeking another term.
The race for council this year includes both newcomers and experienced officeholders, and Brice’s campaign highlights the long arc of a public-service career that spans classrooms, broadcast media, business advocacy and elected government. Voters in Saanich will now weigh that record against the community’s evolving priorities.
