After pushback, one of BC’s most popular tourist destinations is considering opting out of the province’s short-term regulations.
It’s been about a year since Tofino decided to opt into the restrictions.
Under the restrictions, the short-term accommodations must be within the host’s principal residence, plus one secondary suite or accessory dwelling unit.
Those rules apply to municipalities with a population of over 10,000 and communities smaller than that are exempt unless they chose to have the rules apply to them.
During a council meeting earlier this month, municipal officials voted in favour of directing staff to “prepare a public consultation and engagement plan to consider opting out and report back to council by Feb. 1, 2026.”
Meeting documents included a petition signed by 368 residents who were in favour and a letter of support from the Tofino-Long Beach Chamber of Commerce Board.
During the meeting, Tofino municipal councillors Tom Stere and Kat Thomas said council has faced a lot of backlash and even threats and bullying over their decision last spring.
Coun. Al Anderson said the pushback wasn’t just from operators but business owners and other community members.
The deadline to ask the province for an exemption is Mar. 31 of each year.
If Tofino’s municipal council supports the motion to opt out it would likely not come into effect until Nov. 1 of next year.
The delay is meant to allow the municipality to gather more information about how the rules affect them and how opting out of the principal residence rule could impact the community. It also gives the community time to engage with residents.
