r/Portmoody

The Port Moody Voice has officially announced its first candidate for Port Moody City Council as the party begins assembling its team for the 2026 municipal election campaign.

The party, led by current city councillor and declared mayoral candidate Haven Lurbiecki, became an official civic party near the end of 2025 and has since stated its intention to field a full slate of candidates in the upcoming election. If successful, the group would mark the first formal civic party structure in the history of Port Moody municipal politics.

Despite those ambitions, the rollout of candidates has so far been nonexistent. Months after first indicating plans for a complete slate, only one name has publicly emerged for council, leading to speculation about whether the organization will be able to recruit enough candidates to meet its stated goal before the election cycle intensifies.

The first council candidate to be publicly unveiled is Mark Kunzli, who was introduced during a private event held at an undisclosed location. (Later discovered to be Kyle Centre) Limited details were released surrounding the announcement, though Kunzli is understood to be a relatively new resident of Port Moody, obviously loving the community enough to decide to move here to raise his family.

The announcement raises new questions about the direction and strategy of the Port Moody Voice campaign as it attempts to establish itself within the city’s traditionally independent municipal political landscape. Supporters argue that a coordinated team could bring clearer policy alignment and stronger organization to council, while critics question whether party-style politics are the right fit for local government and if slate politics will foster a collaborative and effective democratic council.

Attention is now turning toward who may be announced next, as the Port Moody Voice continues building its roster. Political observers will be watching closely to see whether the party can maintain momentum and attract recognizable community figures ahead of the 2026 campaign season.

What do you think about the Port Moody Voice’s first council candidate announcement, and who do you expect to join the slate next?

I've never tackled a flag before, but my local city has one of those generic, "Coat of Arms on a Flag" designs that are so lacking in personality.

My goals:
- Take the original flag and several elements to make it an evolution not a complete
- Incorporate the Canadian Pale
- Showcase the meeting of Nature and Humanity that is very significant to the city's identity.

I fixed the not-quite-Canadian Pale ratio of the original flag.
I added a Heron to represent the central ecology of the region, also tying in with the blue-purple from the original flag (we have a colony of Blue Herons that nest along the waterfront).
I also wanted to acknowledge the Engineering history of the city, as well as the railroad. So I took the castle/bastion elements from the original and incorporated these into the canadian pale panels along the sides.

The crenellations also evoke a railroad, which I also felt was important to represent as this is important to the development of the city.

Central, between the industrious history is an acknowledgement of the natural history of the area. I think the Blue Heron not only evokes the nature, but also the pre-industrial aboriginal citizens of the area.

If I were capable of depicting the heron in traditional Coast Salish art, I think that would really elevate the design to what I believe it should be.

Anyhow, that's my redesign, I am no flag design expert, nor a graphic artist. Just a game designer who wanted to try something out. All comments and feedback welcome!