Op-Ed: Sean Easton, SVP Vanvcouver

Completing the plan isn’t the same as solving the problem.

In an op-ed, Sean Easton of Social Venture Partners Vancouver looks at housing in Squamish, BC. Over the last decade, the town grew its housing stock by more than 25% and completed nearly every objective in its Housing Action Plan. Yet detached home prices rose by 61% in just five years, and purchasing an average detached home now requires a household income about three times the local median.

When progress is defined by finishing a process, it’s easy to miss whether people’s lives actually got better. Sean makes the case for resident-centered governance: decisions rooted in what the community says it needs, with success measured by outcomes.

Sean’s piece is part of a series of op-eds by leaders across the SVP network who took part in SVPI’s Write to Change the World program. Run in partnership with The OpEd Project, the program supported partner and affiliate leaders in sharing their perspectives on the issues shaping their communities. We’ll be sharing more of their work in the weeks ahead.

Read Sean’s full piece: https://www.squamishreporter.com/2026/06/25/what-would-resident-centered-governance-look-like/