Vancouver councillor defends attendance record after selling local home, buying property in Okanagan

A Vancouver city councillor is defending his attendance record after selling his local home and buying property in the Okanagan.

A Vancouver city councillor is defending his attendance record after selling his local home and buying a property in the Okanagan.

CTV News has obtained property records showing Coun. Brian Montague sold his home in North Vancouver in 2024 and purchased a property in Kelowna in March of 2025.

The next municipal election is set for October of 2026.

When asked about where he lives, he said he would be happy to have a conversation about it off-camera.

“Because where I live, and where I might have property is, you know, within my financial disclosures,” he said.

“I can tell you that I rent a piece of property on the North Shore, and I’m living on the North Shore.”

The former media spokesperson for the Vancouver Police Department has lived in North Vancouver for his entire term on Vancouver city council. Councillors are not required to live in the city to run for or hold municipal office.

When asked how he divides his time now, Montague replied, that he spends “a significant amount of my time here,” referring to Vancouver.

Since April, the ABC Councillor has been recorded absent for 65 votes, according to data published on the City of Vancouver’s website. Prior to that, he had not been recorded absent from a vote at a council or committee meeting or a public hearing in 2025.

Montague said he was in California on vacation from mid-April to mid-May.

“Which is probably why I missed polls,” he said.

“Otherwise, I don’t think I’ve missed any.”

‘What are his interests?’

Green Coun. Pete Fry said he doesn’t see his colleague at a lot of events in the city doing the constituency work expected from municipal politicians.

“He doesn’t own property in Vancouver, he doesn’t live in Vancouver. What are his interests in the City of Vancouver?” he asked.

Fry added it raises questions about whether there should be guardrails on candidate eligibility.

“I think it probably, maybe even demands some kind of reform on who gets to run in local elections and should they have some kind of representation of the city,” he said.

In Vancouver, candidates for local office do not need to live in the city. Cities like Toronto and Calgary, for example, have residency requirements for candidates.

It comes as city staff have been mandated back to work in-office five days a week starting Jan. 1, 2026.

One City Coun. Lucy Maloney said the rule should be applied to councillors as well.

“Yet we’re not putting that restriction on ourselves as councillors, so is that fair?” she asked.

‘Priority is public safety’

Montague is adamant he is representing his constituents in Vancouver.

“I can tell you my priority is to make sure that Vancouver is the best city it can be,” he said. “My priority here is public safety.”

The one-term councillor told CTV News he won’t be running again in next year’s municipal election in October.

In an unsolicited statement to CTV News, the mayor’s office said Montague is “planning for the next chapter of his life, (and) has chosen to buy property in the Okanagan.”

Montague was born and raised in Vancouver and has dedicated his entire career towards serving the residents of this city, the email from the mayor’s office said.

“His contributions have made Vancouver a safer place and we are grateful for his ongoing dedication to our city,” the statement said.

With files from CTV News Vancouver’s Andrew Weichel and Lisa Steacy