Colin G. Basran (born November 14, 1977) is a Canadian politician who served as the mayor of Kelowna, British Columbia from 2014 to 2022.

Colin Basran
Former Mayor of Kelowna
In office
December 1, 2014 – November 7, 2022
Preceded byWalter Gray
Succeeded byTom Dyas
Personal details
Born (1977-11-14) November 14, 1977
Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada
Professionjournalist, realtor, mayor

Political career

Basran was first elected to Kelowna City Council as a country councilor in the 2011 municipal election. Basran was elected Mayor in the 2014 British Columbia municipal elections, making Basran the youngest elected mayor of Kelowna. He was also the first Sikh mayor of Kelowna.[1]

He served for two terms, until he was defeated in the 2022 municipal election by Tom Dyas, who won 62.17% of the vote, over Basran's 31.87%. [2]

Mayoralty

During Basran’s time in office, Kelowna’s crime rate grew to become the highest of all Canadian metropolitan areas,[3] and its homelessness population quadrupled.[4]

In 2019, Kelowna's Royal Canadian Mounted Police was found to dismiss 40 percent of sexual assault claims (triple the provincial and national average) after a woman reported that she was raped by three people at age 15. When when she reported it to the Kelowna RCMP, she said her file was closed after a cursory investigation, which consisted of the police "simply calling her assailant and asking if he was guilty"[5]

In response to the statistic, Basran defended the RCMP, saying that the assaults were properly investigated.[6]

Election Controversies

The year before he won re-election as Kelowna's mayor for a second term, Basran collected over $30,000 in political donations but did not report it to Elections BC[7] until the shortfall was reported by a campaign donor.[8] Largely, the previously unreported donations came from development firms.[9] When asked where the funds went, Basran refused to say how the funds were spent.[10]

Basran raised conflict of interest concerns when it was reported that he rented a multimillion-dollar waterfront home[11] directly from one of B.C.'s biggest real estate developers, despite earning a salary as Mayor of Kelowna of $113,690 per year[12][13]

During Basran's kickoff event to his failed 2022 campaign run, Basran was witnessed verbally assaulting political rival Ron Cannan by swearing at Cannan and kicking him out of the event. [14] [15]

Sexual assault charge

On December 7, 2022, the British Columbia Prosecution Service (BCPS) announced that Basran was charged with sexual assault in connection with an incident [16] to have occurred in May of 2022, while he was still Mayor of Kelowna. The police investigation was conducted by the Kelowna RCMP and reviewed by the Nelson Police Department. Basran is set to make his first appearance related to the charge in Kelowna provincial court on Jan. 24, 2023.[17][18][19]

References

  1. ↑ https://www.kelownadailycourier.ca/life/article_3182a824-ebc1-11e4-ba34-53e481272949.html
  2. ↑ "Tom Dyas defeated two-term mayor Colin Basran in Kelowna by taking 62% of the vote"
  3. ↑ "Kelowna's crime rate the highest of all Canadian metropolitan areas". British Columbia. 2022-08-03. Retrieved 2022-12-09.
  4. ↑ "Shelter opening delayed as homeless population triples in Kelowna - Okanagan | Globalnews.ca". Global News. Retrieved 2022-12-09.
  5. ↑ "Kelowna RCMP dismisses 40 per cent of sexual assault claims over last 2 years".
  6. ↑ Walker, Chris (November 13, 2019). "Kelowna mayor defends RCMP while it reviews its dismissal of 40% of sex assault cases". CBC News.
  7. ↑ SEYMOUR, RON (13 May 2021). "Kelowna mayor raised $20K that wasn't reported to Elections BC". Daily Courier. Retrieved 2022-12-09.
  8. ↑ "Past campaign donor questions Kelowna Mayor Colin Basran's suitability for leadership". INFOnews. Retrieved 2022-12-09.
  9. ↑ "Kelowna mayor declares $31K in previously undisclosed 2018 campaign contributions - Penticton Western News". www.pentictonwesternnews.com. 2021-06-01. Retrieved 2022-12-09.
  10. ↑ "Kelowna mayor feels no need to say how he spent $31,000 in pre-campaign contributions". INFOnews. Retrieved 2022-12-09.
  11. ↑ "Kelowna's mayor renting waterfront home from one of B.C.'s biggest developers". INFOnews. Retrieved 2022-12-09.
  12. ↑ "Our Council". City of Kelowna. 2016-05-19. Retrieved 2022-12-09.
  13. ↑ Courier, Daily (28 October 2022). "No exit payday for Basran while outgoing Vancouver politicians cash in". Daily Courier. Retrieved 2022-12-09.
  14. ↑ SEYMOUR, RON (8 September 2022). "Cannan says Basran swears at him at Kelowna campaign kick-off". Daily Courier. Retrieved 2022-12-09.
  15. ↑ SEYMOUR, RON (30 September 2022). "No sign of Basran's 'plan' to contact him, Cannan says". Daily Courier. Retrieved 2022-12-09.
  16. ↑ "Former B.C. mayor charged with sexual assault alleged to have occurred while he was in office". ‘’CBC News”, December 7, 2022.
  17. ↑ "Former B.C. mayor Colin Basran charged with sexual assault | Globalnews.ca". Global News. Retrieved 2022-12-09.
  18. ↑ "Former Kelowna mayor Colin Basran charged with sexual assault". The Globe and Mail. 2022-12-07. Retrieved 2022-12-09.
  19. ↑ "Former Kelowna Mayor Colin Basran charged with sexual assault - Kelowna Capital News". www.kelownacapnews.com. 2022-12-07. Retrieved 2022-12-09.
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