My name is Blain Pouliot and I am running for the position of city councillor to give Port Alberni another choice, view and strong voice.
If you choose me to become a member of council, my top priorities will include collaboration, our future, economic development, tourism and access to our backcountry.
Port Alberni is my home town. I have strong roots in this community and I’m not going anywhere.
Our community deserves to be marketed to the world in a consistent and effective way. We must strive to work closer with our neighbors who are thriving, progressing and putting our Island on the map as a world destination. We have to put the pieces together and focus on a winning plan.
One simple solution that will enable us to come together to collectively market our Valley is through the MRDT (Municipal Regional Destination Tax), which is funded by our visitors and not the taxpayers of the Valley. Upon uniting all of our accommodation providers (hotels, motels, bnb’s etc..) the province will double these funds and we can then afford to hire destination marketing professionals to market Port Alberni as a whole. I believe that this will attract more investment in our community as well as opportunities for small business to start up and offer more to world travelers.
My wife and I own an award-winning five-star tourism business right here in Port Alberni and are leaders in adventure tourism on Vancouver Island. We have been inviting the world and marketing Port Alberni for seven years. We have had many world travelers refer to the experience we offer as the best part of their vacation to Canada.
We must continue to support the industries and businesses that we have in our community, as well as expand on other opportunities in order to have a more resilient and diversified economy.
Our next mayor and council will set the direction for our future and it is imperative that they work together as leaders for our community. The citizens of Port Alberni have the power to put the right people in place and form a strong team to lead us into a very positive and prosperous future. I would very much like to be apart of this.
Too many of our younger residents have not taken the opportunity to vote in the past—I think because they haven’t felt like they have anyone to vote for. I hope I can inspire some of you that feel you don’t have a say in our future. I’m just a small town guy with big dreams for our town and I’m ready to step up to the plate. I am committed to this community, I am a great teammate and I’m not afraid of the challenges that we are facing.
You can vote on October 10, 16 or 20—this is your chance to become involved and be a part of shaping our future.
You can email me at blainpouliot@gmail.com or message me @voteblainpouliotforcitycouncil on facebook.