Fact check · Campaign website · Running for Council

Donald Couzens Website

Donald Couzens is running for Council in Qualicum Beach in the October 17, 2026 local election. This fact check tests the policy and money claims in Donald Couzens’s campaign website, votedonald.ca against Town of Qualicum Beach records: Council minutes, budgets and staff reports. We rated three claims: two accurate and one misleading. We also set out the record behind six of the promises.

Couzens’s website is mostly promises. His age figure is now right: about two-thirds of residents are 60 or older, where his questionnaire said 80%. He is right that many residents have no family doctor. His one specific charge against Council, about pickleball, is partly right: in May 2026 the club offered to pay the whole cost of converting a tennis court, by its own estimate. But Council hasn’t spent anything near the airport yet. Its offer there depends on the club matching it. The light he asks for at Memorial Avenue and Fir Street is already under contract, as a crosswalk with flashing beacons.

  • Accurate × 2
  • Misleading × 1

We checked the policy and money claims in Donald Couzens’s campaign website, votedonald.ca. Quotes are exact; […] marks words left out. Each finding lists its sources: Town documents first, then news reports where the Town hasn’t published the facts. What the verdicts mean.

Checked September 23, 2026.

Also checked: Donald Couzens Questionnaire.

Misleading

  1. Greater Fiscal Responsibility & Accountability

    “[…] the Pickleball Association offered to fully fund the renovation of one of the town’s existing tennis courts. Council instead chose to spend roughly $200,000 building new courts near the airport.”

    Misleading The club did offer, in May 2026, to pay the whole cost of converting a tennis court, by its own estimate. But nothing has been built near the airport. The Town’s share there, about $205,000 with parking, depends on the club paying $125,000.

    • On May 27, 2026 the Qualicum Beach Pickleball Club told Council it had a quotation of $60,000 to $100,000 to convert the third tennis court on Veterans Way into four pickleball courts, and would put in $100,000: “So we would cover the whole thing.” Its earlier proposals had asked the Town to share the cost.
    • By then Council had chosen the Garden Road dog park site, near the airport. In April 2026 the estimate there came in at $330,000. Council offered to split $250,000 evenly, $125,000 each, with the Town paying for parking, about $80,000. That puts the Town’s share at about $205,000, but only if the club pays its $125,000. The club has offered up to $100,000 there, and nothing has been built.
    • Council had reasons for passing over the tennis court. The Arrowsmith Tennis Club, whose members raised the money for those courts, objected. Some councillors said the land may be wanted for something else. And the club’s own estimates for the conversion have varied: in November 2025 its proposal was $150,000 plus $20,000 for design, split 50/50.
    • The club first asked for courts in March 2023. Its request to paint pickleball lines on a tennis court was refused in July 2023 after the tennis club objected.
    On this site:

    Sources: Committee of the Whole (Parks and Recreation) minutes, May 27, 2026 (Town of Qualicum Beach); Video: Committee of the Whole, May 27, 2026 (Pickleball Club delegation at 1:09) (Town of Qualicum Beach); Regular Council minutes, Apr 22, 2026 (Town of Qualicum Beach); Committee of the Whole agenda and scoping sheets, Nov 12, 2025 (Town of Qualicum Beach); Committee of the Whole minutes, Nov 12, 2025 (Town of Qualicum Beach); Special Council minutes, Dec 17, 2025 (Town of Qualicum Beach); Regular Council minutes, Feb 11, 2026 (Town of Qualicum Beach); Regular Council minutes, Sep 11, 2024 (Town of Qualicum Beach); Regular Council minutes, Jul 19, 2023 (Town of Qualicum Beach)

Accurate

  1. Building a Multi-Generational Community

    “Greater than 65% of Qualicum Beach is over the age of 60.”

    Accurate In the 2021 Census, 6,140 of 9,300 residents, 66%, were 60 or older.

    • His questionnaire answer gave 80%, which was too high.
    On this site:

    Sources: Census Profile, 2021 Census: Qualicum Beach (Statistics Canada)

  2. Healthcare in the Community

    “Many families in Qualicum Beach are on the waitlist for a primary care provider.”

    Accurate In the Town’s 2025 Quality of Life Survey, 25% of residents said they have no family doctor or nurse practitioner. With about 9,300 residents, that is roughly 2,300 people.

    On this site:

    Sources: 2025 Quality of Life Survey, final report (Deloitte) (Town of Qualicum Beach); Census Profile, 2021 Census: Qualicum Beach (Statistics Canada)

Promises and opinions: the record so far

We don’t rate promises or opinions. Where the website raises an issue with a public record, here is what it shows.

  1. Greater Fiscal Responsibility & Accountability

    “In recent years, tax increases in Qualicum Beach have been unsustainable, a sign that the town has taken on more than its reserves and tax base can handle.”

    Whether they are sustainable is a judgment, so we don’t rate it. Town tax went up 5.9% in 2023, 7.7% in 2024, 6.6% in 2025 and 6.5% in 2026. The current plan projects 6.0%, 4.0%, 6.4% and 7.4% for 2027 to 2030.

    On this site:

    Sources: Financial Plan Amendment Bylaw No. 921.01 (adopted Jul 15, 2026) (Town of Qualicum Beach); 2026–2030 Financial Plan (adopted Apr 1, 2026) (Town of Qualicum Beach); 2023–2027 Financial Plan (Town of Qualicum Beach); 2024–2028 Financial Plan (adopted Mar 13, 2024) (Town of Qualicum Beach); 2025–2029 Financial Plan (Town of Qualicum Beach)

  2. Greater Fiscal Responsibility & Accountability

    “[…] aging water infrastructure that is well behind the identified replacement period.”

    Partly borne out. Staff wrote in November 2025 that water pipe renewals “have been deferred to future years.” The records don’t say how far behind they are. Staff say some of the asbestos-cement pipe has less than 15 years of life left, not that it is past due.

    On this site:

    Sources: Committee of the Whole agenda and scoping sheets, Nov 12, 2025 (Town of Qualicum Beach); 2026–2030 Financial Plan (adopted Apr 1, 2026) (Town of Qualicum Beach)

  3. Greater Fiscal Responsibility & Accountability

    “[…] until the town has replaced the funds used for the Eaglecrest Golf Course, other large projects should be delayed.”

    This is a promise, so we don’t rate it. The purchase took the $450,000 Affordable Housing Reserve, $650,000 of developer amenity money and a $2 million provincial grant, and pushed several projects back. The Town plans to pay the reserves back from Eaglecrest land sales in 2027 and 2028. No land has been sold yet.

    On this site:

    Sources: Special Council minutes, Jul 23, 2025 (Town of Qualicum Beach); 2026–2030 Financial Plan (adopted Apr 1, 2026) (Town of Qualicum Beach); Eaglecrest land sales (Town of Qualicum Beach)

  4. Greater Fiscal Responsibility & Accountability

    “Projects for People should be prioritized, such as a Light at the intersection of Memorial Ave & Fir St.”

    This is a promise, so we don’t rate it. It is already under way: on September 9, 2026 Council awarded a $122,727 contract for a crosswalk at Memorial Avenue and Fir Street with solar-powered flashing beacons and a new streetlight. The Town hopes to finish it before Remembrance Day.

    On this site:

    Sources: Regular Council agenda and staff reports, Sep 9, 2026 (Town of Qualicum Beach); Council Corner, Sep 9, 2026 (Town of Qualicum Beach); Memorial Avenue crosswalk project moves ahead in Qualicum Beach (Sep 19, 2026) (Parksville Qualicum Beach News)

  5. Building a Multi-Generational Community

    “[…] there are not currently enough of these alternative housing options available within Qualicum Beach.”

    How many is enough is a judgment, so we don’t rate it. In the 2021 Census, 3,515 of 4,435 occupied homes, 79%, were single-detached houses.

    Sources: Census Profile, 2021 Census: Qualicum Beach (Statistics Canada)

  6. Healthcare in the Community

    “[…] including an increase in long-term care facilities.”

    This is a promise, so we don’t rate it. In October 2025 Council refused a 125-bed care home with long-term care at 431 College Road, 3–2.

    On this site:

    Sources: Regular Council minutes, Oct 22, 2025 (Town of Qualicum Beach); Regular Council agenda and staff reports, Oct 22, 2025 (Town of Qualicum Beach)

We didn’t check his background, because the Town records we hold don’t cover it: his move to Qualicum Beach in 2025, his 29 years in the Canadian Armed Forces, his family, his volleyball coaching and his wife’s speech therapy practice. We also didn’t check his events calendar.

More on Donald Couzens

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Read the page we checked. If the candidate, their campaign or any reader can show us a record that corrects a finding, we will update this page and note the change. Our corrections policy.

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