Duncan Cavens
facebook.com/duncanForEsquimalt
Are you associated with or running as part of a slate? If so, which one?
No
Do you live in the municipality where you are running, and if so, for how long? If not, what is your connection to that community?
I live in Esquimalt and first moved here 12 years ago and moved back permanently 6 years ago. It’s the best part of the capital region and I couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.
What is your occupation, and for how long?
Since 2012, I have been the principal of a small planning consulting firm, advising local governments across Canada on planning and climate issues.
Tell us about your previous elected and/or community experience.
As well as being the parent of two children at Ecole Victor Brodeur, I’m active around Esquimalt:
• member of the Township’s Advisory Planning Commission since 2017 (vice-chair since 2021)
• I am an active volunteer and board member at Rainbow Kitchen: I co-lead a small team preparing over 200 lunches every Thursday. I chair the board’s Governance Committee.
• As a hockey parent with zero skating ability, I sat on the board of Victoria Minor Hockey (2016-2018), and was a volunteer League Commissioner for the Vancouver Island Amateur Hockey Association (2018-2022)
Why are you running? What’s your motivation?
I want to make sure that Esquimalt continues to be a welcoming place where all kinds of people can afford to live, contribute to their community, and thrive. After more than fifteen years working with staff and councils at other local governments, I’ve come to realize that having an active council with relevant experience makes a big difference in getting policies implemented. I am passionate about local government: it’s the level of government that most directly affects residents. I enjoy and have experience working with a diversity of people and opinions and achieving consensus on difficult topics.
What are your top three issues?
Housing Affordability: Too many people are leaving Esquimalt because they are unable to find affordable housing. We need to focus our development policies on getting housing built that meets the needs of all Esquimalt residents.
Climate Change: Esquimalt has a history of setting ambitious climate change targets and then not following up with action. I will focus on tangible policies so we can meet our plans and targets.
Safe Streets and Active Transportation: Esquimalt needs to build more sidewalks and protected bike routes so that children feel safe walking to school and more people feel comfortable cycling in our community.
What’s your vision for your community in 25 years?
I want Esquimalt to build on its strengths as a diverse welcoming community and continue to grow and change while maintaining its essential character: a place with a tremendous sense of community where we all look out for each other. I want Esquimalt to be the place that people ‘need’ to come see when visiting the region: a fun, dynamic place with great parks, lots of great recreational facilities, interesting shops and studios.
At the same time, I want it to demonstrate how to grow while being accessible to all: a place where diversity of incomes and ages are encouraged, and where we are known as the place that gets “stuff done” on green development in an affordable and efficient manner.
What’s one “big idea” you have for your community? (100-125 words)
Although it might be a bit of a ‘pie in the sky’ idea, I’d love to explore the idea of a seasonal outdoor salt-water swimming pool. On a recent family trip to Europe, we enjoyed a number of recently installed facilities that could work in/near the Gorge or at Buxton Green (which was a pool more than a century ago.). The recent expansion of the dock in Banfield Park has demonstrated that there’s a big appetite for summer swimming here: it would be great to create a gathering spot and place for families to swim outside in Esquimalt.
