One last duty for outgoing Qualicum Beach Mayor Teunis Westbroek

Outgoing Town of Qualicum Beach Mayor Teunis Westbroek donned his chain of office last Saturday night at the local Legion’s 100th anniversary, in what would be one of his last official functions.

Westbroek, who was mayor for 23 years and a councillor for seven, was one of an unusually high number of B.C. mayoral incumbents unseated on Oct. 17. He will be replaced by former Ladysmith-Oceanside MLA and Qualicum Beach councillor Adam Walker.

“At the end of all the Legion services we say we will remember them,” Westbroek told Postmedia News on Tuesday.

“Well in my case, I will remember the people that were there on Saturday night and the ones I have worked with over the years. Wonderful relationships, always very amicable.”

Westbroek was born in the Netherlands and moved to B.C. at age 19 in 1973. He travelled around and eventually bought a fishing boat and moved to Qualicum Beach north of Parksville in mid-Vancouver Island. He was elected to council in 1996 and served as mayor from 1999 to 2018. He was a councillor from 2018 to 2022, after which he served again as mayor.

Westbroek said he was especially proud of the Primrose Medical Centre that was opened on Tuesday, with a $400,000 contribution from the town.

“We needed doctors, so this town delivered,” he said. “We’re going to have six to 10 doctors there and visiting specialists. To me that was the biggest thing for the election, but it never came up.”

Instead, Westbroek was embroiled in controversy over council’s 2025 decision to spend $8.5 million buying the Eaglecrest Golf Course.

Westbroek said he will not be running for council again and the Nov. 2 handover will be his last official duty.

“I’ll be there,” he said. “It would be an honour to take my chain of office and put it around (Walker’s) neck and wish him well. That’s the appropriate thing to do.”

dcarrigg@postmedia.com