Langley Election: New mayors, councils need to brace for big changes to region

It’s election day in Langley as voters head to the polls to choose who will lead them for the next four years.

For everything you need to know about how and when to vote in the City of Langley and Township of Langley municipal election, click HERE.

If you’re still undecided on who to vote for, check out our preview story about the major issues and priorities in the City of Langley and the Township of Langley.

Then follow along our live-blog HERE throughout the day and night for the latest election day news from across the Metro Vancouver region, and check back here where we’ll keep this post updated all night with Langley election results and reaction.

Voters in Langley City and Township will decide on a mayor and council to oversee an anticipated regional boom when the Surrey Langley SkyTrain extension is complete.

In both cities, an incumbent mayor, who led a sometimes fractious council, faces a challenge from a new candidate hoping to tap into the financial concerns of voters.

In the Township, incumbent Mayor Eric Woodward is running on the idea of “growth paying for growth,” with a focus on improving roads, parks and facilities to keep pace with past and future housing development. Another four years would allow his Progress For Langley slate to “continue the catch-up,” he told Postmedia News.

In addition to mayor, Progress for Langley is running a slate of eight candidates for council, including four incumbent councillors.

Woodward’s challenger is Jay Lundgren, who heads the Langley Strong slate. The party is fielding seven candidates for council, including four incumbent councillors. Lundgren has pledged to reduce municipal debt as population growth has started to slow. He is also concerned about a “debt of respect” at city hall.

In Langley City, Mayor Nathan Pachal is running with Langley City First, which has a slate of six candidates, including three incumbent councillors. The city has been anticipating the new Langley City station with plans for a transit police office and bus exchange with space to expand fire and police services. Voters are “generally excited” about the new rapid transit line, Pachal told Postmedia News, but increased homelessness and crime are top of mind.

Delaney Mack, who was elected as a city councillor in 2022, is running against Pachal with Achieving For Langley City and a slate of five candidates. Mack wants a line-by-line review of the budget to find ways to address tax increases. The current council’s budget has looked the same from year to year, plus expensive “add-ons,” she said. She’s also made public safety a central part of her message.

In the 2022 election, Pachal received 64 per cent of the vote, receiving double the votes of then mayor Val van den Broek.

In the Township, Woodward won a decisive victory with 42 per cent of the vote, more than 3,000 votes ahead of challengers Blair Whitmarsh and former MLA Rich Coleman. Whitmarsh, a former councillor, won a byelection in 2025 to return to council and is now running with Lundgren’s team.

In that time, the two Langleys have been among the fastest-growing communities in Canada. The population of both municipalities has grown by almost 20 per cent since 2020, nearly double the provincial rate. Growth has slowed in recent years.

The Surrey Langley SkyTrain extension, which should be complete in late 2029, will include two SkyTrain stations — one in Willowbrook and another in Langley City — and is expected to bring big changes to the region.

The line will link Metro Vancouver’s outer suburbs to the major urban centres of Surrey and Vancouver, and is likely to change the character of neighbourhoods near the new stations with increased density, transit-oriented development and business activity. Along with population growth, rapid transit could also bring more crime and public safety concerns to the eastern part of the Metro Vancouver region, along with a quicker commute times.

The mayor and council of both City and Township will oversee preparations for the changes coming down the line.