Dustin Sikora annouces candidacy Race for Osoyoos
Sikora announces "Im in" for this years Municipal Election
OSOYOOS, B.C. — In a direct-to-camera video released Saturday evening, local businessman, veteran , and 2022 mayoral candidate Dustin Sikora declared his return to the political arena with a simple but emphatic message: "I'm in."
The nearly three-and-a-half-minute production opens with sweeping aerial shots of Osoyoos Lake, rolling vineyards and the golden hills that define the South Okanagan, overlaid with the stark white title "OSOYOOS ELECTION 2026." It then shifts to Sikora, seated in a book-lined home office, wearing a navy Osoyoos-branded polo and speaking earnestly into a lapel microphone. The video closes by returning to the same scenic title card.
Sikora, who describes himself as a God-fearing husband, father, volunteer, veteran, business owner and inventor, is positioning himself as a candidate in the October 17 municipal election. While the video itself functions primarily as a personal announcement of his candidacy rather than a detailed policy manifesto, it comes against the backdrop of his established record and recent public comments on local democratic process.
In the 2022 election, Sikora ran for mayor under the "Osoyoos First" banner and finished a close second, taking 972 votes (46.26 percent) to incumbent Sue McKortoff's 1,109 (52.78 percent). At that time his stated priorities included attracting more family doctors, freezing property tax rates, addressing housing and labour shortages, and promoting pro-business, pro-law-enforcement and pro-family values.
Just hours before posting the announcement video, Sikora highlighted what he sees as a structural issue with the local electorate. He noted that roughly 20 percent of eligible voters in the 2026 Osoyoos election are non-resident property electors—"out of towners"—who typically leave the community by the end of summer, well before the September nomination period closes. He publicly asked how many live mayoral candidate debates should be held before Labour Day to ensure broader participation.
The timing of his declaration places him among the earliest visible entrants in a race that will elect one mayor, four councillors and two water councillors. Nomination papers can be filed only between September 1 and 11. Advance voting is scheduled for October 7 and 10, with mail-in ballots also available this year.
Local issues that any candidate will confront include ongoing water conservation pressures amid regional drought, changes to provincial homeowner grants, short-term rental regulations, housing affordability, and relations with the Osoyoos Indian Band on land and economic matters. Sikora's video does not enumerate a full 2026 platform, but his early entry and focus on voter access signal an intent to shape the conversation before the official campaign period begins in earnest.
Whether he seeks the mayor's chair again or a council seat remains to be formally confirmed once nominations open. For now, the message from the man in the Osoyoos polo is clear and unadorned: after four years, Dustin Sikora is back in the race.