City Leaders
The Mayor and Councillors make decisions together in this group.
City Council
A pothole appears on a street in your neighbourhood. Which level of government is responsible for fixing it?
municipal (city) government
A city collects property taxes from homeowners. Name TWO services this money pays for.
Any two of: roads, parks, fire dept., garbage, library, recreation centres, sidewalks
This BC city is home to the provincial government and the Legislature building.
Victoria
True or False: The city government is responsible for running public schools in BC.
False — schools are funded and run by the provincial government
A Councillor disagrees with the Mayor's idea at a City Council meeting. This is how the disagreement is settled.
by voting
A family calls 911 because their house is on fire. Name the city service that responds AND who funds it.
Fire department — funded by the city / municipal government
A city charges $5 to enter the public pool. Explain why this is NOT a tax.
Because a fee is only paid when you use a specific service — a tax is paid by all homeowners regardless of what they use
Surrey is part of which regional government that includes over 20 municipalities in the Lower Mainland?
Metro Vancouver
True or False: A Mayor can pass a new bylaw without the support of Councillors.
False — a majority of Council must vote to approve any bylaw
Because Councillors must vote and agree— one person cannot make all decisions for the city
A Mayor can make decisions for the city, but they cannot do it alone. Explain why.
A resident wants a new crosswalk near their school. Name the TWO steps they should take to make this happen through city government.
Contact / write to a Councillor or Mayor; attend a City Council meeting to make a request
A city has a budget of 100 tokens. Roads need 40, parks need 30, fire dept needs 25, and the library needs 20. What is the problem and what must the city do?
The total is 115 tokens — more than the budget. The city must make trade-offs and cut spendingsomewhere.
Two BC cities — Kelowna and Kamloops — are both in this region of BC.
What is the Interior / Okanagan-Thompson region?
True or False: Property taxes are the only way cities in BC raise money.
False — cities also collect fees, fines, grants from other governments, and city borrowing
This is what happens when a Mayor's term ends and they do not run again — citizens must do this to choose the next leader.
Voting
Explain the difference between a city bylaw and a Canadian federal law. Give one example of each.
Bylaw = local city rule (e.g., noise curfew, leash rule); Federal law = applies to all of Canada (e.g., Criminal Code)
Explain why a city with a growing population might need to raise property taxes.
More people = more demand for services (roads, garbage, parks, fire dept.) = city needs more money to pay for them.
Explain ONE way that a large city like Vancouver might have DIFFERENT municipal challenges than a small city like Prince George.
Larger city: more traffic, housing, homelessness, transit needs. Smaller city: fewer resources, more remote, different infrastructure needs — any reasonable comparison accepted
True or False: If a citizen disagrees with a city bylaw, they have no way to challenge it.
False — citizens can attend council meetings, petition, vote out councillors, or appeal through a legal process
A city has 8 Councillors. Five vote YES on a new bylaw and three vote NO. Explain what happens next.
The bylaw passes because the majority (5 out of 8) voted yes
The city closes the public library on Sundays to save money. Name ONE group harmed by this decision and explain why.
Any reasonable answer — e.g., students who need computers/books; seniors who rely on the space; families who use it on weekends
A councillor says: "We should cut the library budget to fix more roads." Give ONE argument FOR and ONE argument AGAINST this decision.
FOR: Roads affect more people daily / safety issue. AGAINST: Library serves students, seniors, people without internet — cutting it harms vulnerable residents
A student researching Nanaimo finds that it is on Vancouver Island. Explain ONE challenge this location might create for municipal services compared to a mainland city like Burnaby.
Getting supplies/equipment to the island costs more / ferry access / harder to connect to provincial highway network / more isolated etc.
True or False: All BC cities have the same number of Councillors.
False — the number of Councillors varies by city depending on population size and city charter.