.png)
Denis Senecal Answers 3 KCFN Questions - Cranbrook Municipal Election, October 2026
Municipal elections matter.
From land use and infrastructure to affordability, emergency preparedness, community services and local food systems (to name just a few)... politics and public policy have real consequences in our everyday lives.
With Kimberley and Cranbrook soon to be hitting the municipal ballot boxes — Advance Voting is open Wednesday, October 7 & Wednesday, October 14, with General Voting Day on Saturday, October 17 — the Kimberley Cranbrook Food Network recently narrowed our many possible interconnected food-system questions down to three (3) that we sent to all candidates for Mayor and City Council in both communities.
We're sharing their responses on our website/socials as they come back to us to help residents (which includes ourselves) hear directly from the people seeking to represent us all on important community matters such as the three questions we asked below.
Denis Senecal is running for Cranbrook City Councillor. You can learn more about their candidacy through their Facebook page — but first, please see below for Denis's responses to our three KCFN questions, which we have shared as submitted.
Q1. What specific actions would you support at the municipal level to strengthen local food production and access to local food in our communities?
I will champion our Community Food Charter, making food security, local food systems and food Sovereignty a part of our strategic priorities, making it a part of our decision making process.
Q2. Food insecurity is affecting households in our communities, while local organizations providing food access and food-security programs are often working with limited resources. What role do you think the City should play in supporting this work, and what specific actions or partnerships would you pursue?
I don't know enough about this subject to give an informed answer. I don't know what's possible. I know we have a regional coordinator, bringing community partners together to assist with the the housing, mental health and addiction crisis. I believe this program is designed to bring federal, provincial, regional and municipal supports all to one place to coordinate what is needed, where it's needed. Is this a possibility to address food insecurity? Maybe that's our place, as a coordinator?
Q3. Wildfires, drought, extreme weather and disruptions to transportation can affect both local food production and our communities' access to food. How should the City incorporate food security into its emergency preparedness and climate-resilience planning?
I had friends from Cranbrook stuck on the other side of Kimberley during the evacuation this year. I was shook and felt scared and vulnerable so I made arrangements to make breakfast for the evacuees at the curling rink for one of the mornings. I realize how fortunate I am to have the resources to share my food with others. Evacuees sure eat a lot of bacon. I have lived through ice storms where the grocery store shelves have no fresh fruit or vegetables and it's scary how fast we are suddenly cut off from the outside world. I then made it a priority to have a plan for evacuation, emergency food stores and energy. I had not thought about it from an entire community's perspective. I had also never thought about it from the perspective of people who barely have enough for breakfast tomorrow, let alone rations set aside for an evacuation. I don't know what's possible in Cranbrook, but I will make this a part of the Community Food Charter discussion so we can include food as part of our emergency preparedness.
Many thanks to Denis Senecal for taking the time to respond to our questions — and cheers to all of the candidates who have put their names forward to serve our communities in these important roles (and thank YOU for stopping by to read & add some more context to your voting decisions/discussions).
You can learn more about Denis's campaign through their Facebook page, and you can read responses from other candidates through our KCFN Municipal Election 2026 page (which we will continue to update as more responses come back).
For official municipal voting information and full candidate information, remember where you live and then visit the City of Kimberley 2026 Election page and Kimberley candidate profiles (if you live in Kimberley), or the City of Cranbrook 2026 Election page and Cranbrook candidate profiles (if you live in Cranbrook). And for wherever you live, ElectionsBC is always a good spot online to visit for trustworthy election information.
And then remember, for the upcoming Municipal Election, whether you live in Kimberley or Cranbrook or somewhere else… these are the dates for voting in the upcoming Municipal Election:
Advance Voting: Wednesday, October 7 & Wednesday, October 14
General Voting Day: Saturday, October 17
Please Note: Kimberley Cranbrook Food Network (KCFN) sent the same three questions to all candidates for Mayor and City Council in Kimberley and Cranbrook that we were able to find contact information for on Sunday, October 4th (27 candidates in total between both communities). Candidate responses are published as submitted, with only minor formatting changes if necessary for readability. KCFN does not endorse individual candidates, we just endorse informed & engaged voters (and we hope people find these Q&As as engaging as we do).
Comments