Youth and family retention strategy
$50,000 to update the Town's strategy for keeping and attracting youth and young families. The Eaglecrest funding plan moved it from 2028 to 2029.
- Amount
- $50,000
- Got
- $0
- Where it stands
- To 2029. Moved by the Eaglecrest funding plan, Jul 2025.
What it is
This would update an older Town strategy on keeping youth and young families in Qualicum Beach and attracting new ones. The budget is $50,000.
A 2025 letter in a Town agenda refers to a 2012 document called Recommended Strategies for Youth and Young Families Retention and Attraction. We could not find the 2012 document itself.
The Town's strategic plans list a Youth and Young Families Retention and Attraction Strategy among the plans they aim to link to the budget. In the 2026–2030 Financial Plan, the update is listed under Economic Prosperity.
What happened
- 2012A strategy on youth and young families is dated 2012, according to a letter in the Oct 24, 2025 Committee of the Whole agenda.
- 2025The 2025–2029 Financial Plan shows $50,000 for the update in 2028.
- July 23, 2025Council moved it from 2028 to 2029 as part of the Eaglecrest funding plan (Resolution 25-180, carried 4–1, Councillor Harrison opposed).
- April 1, 2026The adopted 2026–2030 Financial Plan shows $50,000 in 2029.
Why it matters
- Statistics Canada lists Qualicum Beach first among Canadian municipalities with the oldest populations. More than half of residents are 65 or older.
- In the 2021 Census there were 640 children aged 0 to 14 in Qualicum Beach. The number of people aged 15 to 64 fell from 3,725 in 2016 to 3,430 in 2021.
- Some youth projects were approved. In December 2025 Council unanimously approved $50,000 in 2027 toward a tennis and basketball court at Kwalikum Secondary School. The skatepark was rebuilt in 2025.
- The 2026–2030 Financial Plan says Council's ability to go ahead with 2027 and later initiatives depends on paying back the Strategic Initiatives Reserve, expected in 2027 and 2028, and that Council will set priorities at its 2027 strategic planning.
Sources
- Special Council agenda and deferral lists, Jul 23, 2025 (opens in a new tab)
- Staff report: 2025–2029 Financial Plan Amendment, Oct 22, 2025 (opens in a new tab)
- Special Council minutes, Jul 23, 2025 (opens in a new tab) Resolution 25-180, pp. 2–3
- 2025–2029 Financial Plan (opens in a new tab) p. 22
- 2026–2030 Financial Plan (adopted Apr 1, 2026) (opens in a new tab) pp. 20, 22
- Committee of the Whole agenda and scoping sheets, Oct 24, 2025 (opens in a new tab) letter citing the 2012 strategy, p. 66
- Qualicum Beach Strategic Plan 2026–2030 (opens in a new tab) p. 3
- Statistics Canada, The Daily, April 27, 2022 (opens in a new tab)
- Statistics Canada, age profile for Qualicum Beach, 2016–2021 (opens in a new tab)
- Special Council minutes, Dec 17, 2025 (opens in a new tab) Kwalikum Secondary court, p. 4
Last checked September 18, 2026. Report a mistake.