Doug Holmes has served on Summerland Council for the past 12 years, the last four as mayor. He has served on the board of the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen (RDOS) for the past eight years, including a year as vice-chair. He has served on the Okanagan Basin Water Board (OBWB) for the past six years, the last four as vice-chair.
As mayor, Holmes oversaw the recent evacuation and subsquent re-entry of the entire 12,000 population of Summerland due to the Bald Range wildfire. He says the next mayor will need to lead Summerland’s recovery, including securing the community’s drinking water source that could be affected by the impacts of the fire.
Holmes has led a Council committed to investing in municipal infrastructure while keeping property tax increases below the regional average. In the last four years, 35 local roads have been repaved or partially repaved and a downtown neighborhood plan has been initiated including the creation of Veterans Memorial Square and approval of two major affordable housing developments.
As councillor from 2018-2022, Holmes served as liaison to both the Chamber of Commerce and Arts Council, and spearheaded the establishment of the George Ryga Arts and Cultural Centre. He is one of the founders of the Ryga Arts Festival, the organizer of ‘Doors Open Summerland’, a certified tennis instructor who has taught the game to hundreds of Summerland youth, and a Rotary Paul Harris Fellow received in recognition of his work on the resettlement of refugees.
Before settling in Summerland in 2004 to raise his family, Holmes had an international career in journalism and business, based primarily in London and Paris. He has visited more than 90 countries and every province and territory in Canada, and has a degree in journalism and political science from Carleton University in Ottawa.
