Lisa Helps (born April 6, 1976) is a Canadian politician and public administrator who served as the mayor of Victoria, British Columbia, from 2014 to 2022. She is the second woman, after Gretchen Brewin, to be elected mayor of the city.
Early Life and Education
Helps was born in London, Ontario. She began her undergraduate studies at Trent University (1995–1997) before transferring to the University of Victoria, where she earned a Bachelor's degree in History and Women's Studies (1999–2002) and a Master's degree in History (2003–2005). She later pursued a Ph.D. (ABD) in History at the University of Toronto (2005–2009), focusing on housing, homelessness, and the governance of poverty. She was a 2006 Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation Scholar.
Political Career
City Councillor (2011–2014)
Helps was first elected to Victoria City Council as a city councillor in the 2011 municipal election.
Mayor of Victoria (2014–2022)
Helps was elected mayor on November 15, 2014, narrowly defeating incumbent mayor Dean Fortin. She was sworn in on December 4, 2014, and was re-elected to a second term in the 2018 municipal election. She did not seek a third term in 2022 and was succeeded by Marianne Alto.
Key actions and initiatives during her tenure include:
- Oath of Office: At her inauguration, Helps declined to recite the traditional oath of allegiance to Queen Elizabeth II, stating she wanted to emphasize that Victoria is part of the traditional territories of the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations.
- Witness Reconciliation Program: In June 2017, the city created the Witness Reconciliation Program and the City Family, a group composed of Helps, city council members, and representatives from the Esquimalt and Songhees Nations, to guide the city's response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's calls to action.
- Statue of John A. Macdonald: In August 2018, Helps oversaw the removal of the statue of John A. Macdonald from outside Victoria City Hall, following a year of consultation.
- Canada Day Cancellation: In 2021, Helps spearheaded the cancellation of Canada Day celebrations, citing the "genocidal relationship with First Nations" in Canadian history.
- Homelessness and Housing: She led efforts to address homelessness, including a coordinated agreement with the province to house people living in city parks and the development of supportive housing.
- Victoria 3.0: She championed the city's long-term economic plan focused on becoming a "future-ready and globally-fluent" city.
- Climate Action: She co-founded the Vancouver Island and Coastal Communities Climate Leadership Plan and the BC Social Procurement Initiative.
- BC Urban Mayors' Caucus: She co-founded and co-chaired the caucus, representing 13 mayors from urban British Columbia.
Post-Mayoral Career
After leaving office, Helps served as Housing Solutions Advisor to Premier David Eby (2023–2024), where she helped design and develop the BC Builds program. She then became Executive Lead of BC Builds Project Origination at BC Housing (2023–2025) and later Executive Lead, Project Acceleration at BC Housing (2025–present). She also teaches Leading Urban Change at the University of Toronto School of Cities, serves as Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Urban Institute, and chairs the board of the Fernwood Community and Arts Association.
Personal Life
Helps is queer and has written poetry, which she has read at LGBTQ literary events. She has also worked as a community organizer, including as Executive Director and Co-Founder of the Community Micro Lending Society, Canada's first peer-to-peer micro lending program.
