Nearly 2,000 people want Victoria's newest councillor to quit before she's sworn in

Wendy Bowkett won a seat on Victoria council with 13,545 votes. She hasn't been sworn in yet, and already a change.org petition asking her to resign has collected 1,946 signatures.

The petition, started by Eddi Wilson, points to Bowkett's public X account, which Wilson describes as "proudly anti-immigrant and transphobic." It singles out her reply to an October 2025 BC NDP post about protecting gender identity in BC's Human Rights Code, and her alignment with Chris Elston, the activist known as Billboard Chris. Victoria Buzz reached out to Bowkett and had not received a response by publication.

Here's the catch: there is no recall process at the municipal level in BC. The only way Bowkett leaves is if she chooses to. Mayor-elect Marianne Alto told CTV News the city has a code of conduct, and that she'll intervene from the chair if behaviour "countermands or undermines" the city's inclusion policies. But removing a sitting councillor isn't a tool the city has.

Bowkett, Alto, and the rest of the new council are sworn in November 5.