Canada’s “King of the Mountains” to be Mayor of Sun Peaks, BC

Al Raine to be first mayor of Sun Peaks – Canada’s newest municipality and the country’s first “mountain resort” municipality
Sun Peaks, BC - On June 28th, Sun Peaks, the BC Interior’s largest ski resort, north of Kamloops, BC, will become Canada’s newest municipality and - under special new Provincial legislation - it will be the country’s first “mountain resort” municipality. It is only fitting that the man who will be leading the first municipal council is Al Raine. Raine, a former National Ski Team coach and husband to Senator (and Olympian) Nancy Greene Raine, has played an integral role in the development of the BC ski industry since the mid 70s and was on the first municipal council in Whistler, BC in the early 80s.

“To be a great resort,” says Raine, who is also the former Chair of Tourism Sun Peaks, “you need to be a great community. With Sun Peaks’ new status as a municipality we will be in a better position to lobby for essential community services like a school and healthcare. Of course, there are also financial advantages, in addition to Municipal tax revenues, Sun Peaks will be eligible for a Provincial grant for small communities and as a mountain resort municipality, the local government will receive a portion of the hotel HST levied in the resort.”

“The community is excited that Sun Peaks will finally govern many of the services it needs from within and the electorate has spoken clearly that local issues should be dealt with by local government. This community is unique in many ways and it was only a matter of time before self governance came to fruition,” says Adam Earle, Publisher of Sun Peaks Independent News. “We have a world class resort, an engaged community population and business sector, and a huge tax base, so it only makes sense that decisions regarding the future of this community are made in this community.”