Victoria鈥檚 newest MP will resign from city council in the coming days, triggering a byelection early next year that will cost taxpayers about $200,000, Mayor Lisa Helps confirmed Tuesday.
Laurel Collins, who won the Victoria riding for the NDP on Monday night, is on unpaid leave from council until Oct. 25.
She intends to speak with Helps, fellow councillors and city staff to determine the best course of action for tendering her resignation, she said in an interview.
鈥淚鈥檒l be consulting with them, but I definitely will be resigning from council.鈥�
Once Collins steps aside, council will appoint a chief election officer and notify Municipal Affairs Minister Selina Robinson.
A vote must take place within 80聽days of the appointment.
Helps said the resulting byelection will likely occur in mid-February.
鈥淭he Christmas break means that we can鈥檛 get going right away,鈥� she said, pegging the cost of a byelection at about $200,000.
A Saanich council byelection in 2017 cost the district about $123,000, officials said Tuesday.
There is no legal requirement for Collins to step aside, but the newly minted MP said she wants to devote all her energies to representing the Victoria riding, a seat the NDP has held since 2006, first under Denise Savoie and later Murray Rankin.
鈥淐ouncil, although it鈥檚 not paid as a full-time job, was taking up 55 to 60 hours of my week, and I really want to dedicate my time to representing the residents of our riding,鈥� she said.
鈥淚鈥檓 just so incredibly honoured that our community has put their trust in me to represent them as their next MP and I鈥檓 really looking forward to pouring all of my time and energy into doing a great job at that and to carrying on the legacy that Murray Rankin and Denise Savoie are leaving.鈥�
Collins, who faced criticism for stepping away from council less than a year after winning a seat, said it was an 鈥渆xcrutiatingly hard鈥� decision.
She initially refused when a number of people asked her to seek the federal nomination, but changed her mind after speaking with Rankin and other NDP politicians, including leader Jagmeet Singh.
鈥淲hat each of them said, in their own way, was to think about the issues that matter most in our community and where I could make the biggest impact,鈥� she said.
鈥淚 know that the people currently on council are going to continue to fight for affordable housing to really tackle the housing crisis and for bold climate leadership. These are the things that I鈥檝e been working on in this community for over a decade.
鈥淎nd we need federal leadership on these issues. We need a federal government that takes these issues seriously and that is what I want to go to Ottawa and do.鈥�
Helps said it鈥檚 great to have a council colleague elected to the House of Commons.
鈥淚 think that cities are critically important in the 21st century and to have somebody who鈥檚 had some municipal experience advocating for cities, and in particular for our city, in Ottawa is a good thing.鈥�
Helps said Victoria has had a close relationship with the federal Liberals under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and she expects that to continue with the NDP potentially holding the balance of power in a minority government.
鈥淲hat I anticipate with the Liberals and the NDP working together is that we鈥檙e going to see action on things that are important to Victorians and 91原创s 鈥� so affordable housing, child care, generating high-paying jobs, investing in education, taking action on climate change 鈥� all of the things that we need to live good lives in cities around the region and across the country.
鈥淚 think this minority government will deliver on some of those things and I鈥檓 glad we have a strong advocate there.鈥�
