Rob Howard sworn in as Richmond's new mayor with plan for trade centre, spending review and housing
Mayor Rob Howard outlined his priorities for the 2026-2030 term at Richmond City Hall on November 2: a trade and exhibition centre, an independent spending review, housing for seniors, and a council vote on supervised injection sites.
Long read. The subject the most local outlets covered that day, with the public record behind it. Every outlet and record is linked under the story. Read the original report on richmond.ca.
Rob Howard was sworn in as Richmond's new mayor on the evening of November 2, 2026, at a special Inaugural Meeting at Richmond City Hall. It was the first change of mayor in Richmond in 25 years: Howard takes over from Malcolm Brodie, who chose not to seek re-election.
In his inauguration address, Howard set out five areas he plans to work on: a new trade and exhibition centre, an arts and culture space at the City Centre waterfront, an independent review of City spending, housing for seniors, and a council vote on supervised injection sites. The City of Richmond's news release, posted October 30, confirmed the date, the meeting format and the names of the nine people who took the Oath of Office. Daily Hive reported the speech in full on November 3.
The trade and exhibition centre
Howard told the audience he would approach stakeholders and the provincial and federal governments about building a trade and exhibition centre in Richmond. He pointed to the city's position near Vancouver International Airport, port facilities and highway connections.
"We will talk to stakeholders and senior levels of government to get to work on building a world-class trade and exhibition centre right here in Richmond," Howard said, as reported by Daily Hive.
He did not name a site, give a cost or set a timeline. Previous plans for a convention and exhibition centre were part of a proposed redevelopment of the Duck Island site, the former location of the Richmond Night Market, which closed at the end of summer 2026. That site is in the northern part of Richmond City Centre, beside Bridgeport SkyTrain Station and River Rock Casino Resort.
In 2024, Jingon International Development Group received rezoning approval to redevelop Duck Island into a large commercial and entertainment complex. Earlier plans for the same site, going back to the early 2010s, had included a 450,000 square foot convention and exhibition centre and major arts and culture venues. The developer later ran into financial difficulties, and the property has been subject to a court-ordered sale process, according to Daily Hive.
The arts and culture centre
Alongside the trade centre, Howard said he would begin planning for an arts and culture centre at the City Centre waterfront.
"We will engage immediately in creating a plan for an arts and culture centre at our city centre waterfront, a place where families can stroll, seniors can gather, and the community can come together," he said.
He gave no location, cost or timeline. This is one of the promises on his tracker page.
The spending review
Howard said he would ask the new City Council to approve an independent review of municipal spending and services, with the goal of finding savings and checking whether tax dollars are delivering value.
"I will ask Council to support an independent value for money review, to identify efficiencies, improve services, and ensure every tax dollar delivers value. Other cities have found meaningful savings through this exercise, and I believe it can deliver similar results for Richmond," he said, as reported by Daily Hive.
This is also a tracked campaign promise. See his promise tracker for updates as Council takes it up.
He added that Richmond's history of maintaining reserves and keeping property taxes competitive should guide the new Council's decisions.
Housing and development cost charges
On housing, Howard said he would work with City staff to shorten permit waits and look at new approaches to meeting housing demand, with a focus on keeping seniors and younger families in Richmond.
He also said he would back a proposal to waive development cost charges for a new Lions Manor project in Steveston. Development cost charges are fees the City collects from developers when they build, used to pay for infrastructure such as roads, water and sewer systems, and community facilities. The speech gave no dollar amount for the proposed waiver and no timeline for the Lions Manor project.
His housing promises include building attainable seniors' homes so residents can stay in the community.
Supervised injection sites
Howard said he had agreed to put a member motion about supervised injection facilities on the new City Council's meeting agenda. He gave no date for the vote and no details of what the motion would say. Opposing supervised injection sites in Richmond is one of his campaign commitments.
Who was sworn in
Along with Mayor Rob Howard, the City's news release names the eight councillors who took the Oath of Office: re-elected Councillors Carol Day, Laura Gillanders, Andy Hobbs and Michael Wolfe, and newly elected Councillors Kenny Chiu, Kevin Lai, Gary Law and Sheldon Starrett.
What comes next
The first regular Council meeting of the 2026-2030 term is scheduled under the City's Council Procedure Bylaw No. 7560 for the second Monday of November, which is November 9, 2026, at 7:00 pm at Richmond City Hall. The supervised injection motion and the value-for-money review proposal are expected to come to Council in the coming weeks.
Residents can watch Council meetings live at richmond.ca/WatchOnline. Each councillor's promises for the term are tracked at /bc/richmond-2026/tracker.
Questions this story answers
When was Rob Howard sworn in as Richmond's mayor?
Rob Howard was sworn in at a special Inaugural Meeting at Richmond City Hall on the evening of November 2, 2026. The City of Richmond's news release, posted October 30, 2026, confirmed the date and named Honourable Justice Eric Gottardi as the judge who administered the Oath of Office to Howard and the eight new councillors.
What is Rob Howard's plan for a trade and exhibition centre in Richmond?
In his inauguration speech, Howard said he would talk to stakeholders and the provincial and federal governments about building a trade and exhibition centre in Richmond. He pointed to the city's location near Vancouver International Airport, port facilities and highway connections as reasons to pursue the project. Daily Hive reported his exact words: 'We will talk to stakeholders and senior levels of government to get to work on building a world-class trade and exhibition centre right here in Richmond.' He did not name a site or give a cost.
What is the Duck Island site and what is happening with it?
Duck Island is the former site of the Richmond Night Market, which closed at the end of summer 2026. It sits in the northern part of Richmond City Centre, next to SkyTrain's Bridgeport Station and River Rock Casino Resort. In 2024, Jingon International Development Group received rezoning approval to redevelop the site into a large commercial and entertainment complex with up to 2,000 hotel rooms, 538,000 square feet of entertainment space, 908,000 square feet of office and institutional space, and 622,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space. The developer later ran into financial difficulties, and the property has been subject to a court-ordered sale process, according to Daily Hive.
What is the value-for-money review Howard announced?
Howard said he would ask Council to approve an independent review of municipal spending and services. He said the review would look for savings and determine whether taxpayers are getting good value. Daily Hive quoted him: 'I will ask Council to support an independent value for money review, to identify efficiencies, improve services, and ensure every tax dollar delivers value. Other cities have found meaningful savings through this exercise, and I believe it can deliver similar results for Richmond.' This is a promise he made during the campaign and can be tracked at his page on this site.
What did Howard say about supervised injection sites?
Howard said he had agreed to put a member motion about supervised injection facilities on the new City Council's agenda. This is one of his campaign promises, listed at his tracker page. He gave no date for the vote and no details of what the motion would say, as reported by Daily Hive.
What is Howard's plan for housing in Richmond?
Howard said he would work with City staff to shorten permit waits and look at new ways to address housing needs. He also said he would back a proposal to waive development cost charges for a new Lions Manor project in Steveston. Development cost charges are fees the City collects from developers to pay for infrastructure such as roads and water systems. No dollar amount for the waiver or a timeline for the Lions Manor project was given in the speech.
What arts and culture plans did Howard announce?
Howard said he would begin planning immediately for an arts and culture centre at the City Centre waterfront. He described it as 'a place where families can stroll, seniors can gather, and the community can come together.' He gave no location, cost or timeline. This is one of his tracked campaign promises.
Who else was sworn in at the November 2 inaugural meeting?
Along with Mayor Howard, the City's news release names eight councillors who took the Oath of Office: re-elected Councillors Carol Day, Laura Gillanders, Andy Hobbs and Michael Wolfe, and newly elected Councillors Kenny Chiu, Kevin Lai, Gary Law and Sheldon Starrett. Each councillor's page on this site lists their promises for the term.
Sources
The pages this story draws on. Open one to check a claim yourself.
- City of Richmond · Inaugural Council Meeting news release, October 30, 2026richmond.ca
- Daily Hive · Richmond's new mayor wants to build a new trade and exhibition centre, November 3, 2026dailyhive.com
- Richmond City Council · Council Meetings agendas and minutes, 2026citycouncil.richmond.ca
- Richmond News · Rob Howard elected Richmond's new mayor, October 17, 2026richmond-news.com
Found an error? Tell the editors with the corrections form. A correction is noted on the story it changes. Read our standards.
