Tag: Pat Carleton

Whistler’s First ElectionWhistler’s First Election

September 16, 2025 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

On September 6, 1976, Whistler residents got to vote in their first municipal election and choose their first council representatives. The Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) Act, which created Whistler as a resort municipality, was passed by the provincial government in June 1975 and a cabinet order in July set September 6 as the day that the Act came into effect. However, some sections of the Act, specifically those that allowed for the preparation for an election, came into effect earlier.

Campaigning began in August with posters, buttons, and campaign platforms published in the Squamish Times. Four people offered their name for the position of mayor: Paul Burrows, Roy Calder, Pat Carleton, and Roger Lampitt. Though each of the four had their own views on the challenges and unknowns facing the new municipality, all promised that they would dedicate themselves and work hard if chosen. In his campaign, Carleton told voters, “I cannot promise miracles, I can only promise to do the best job possible.”

Whistler’s first council, 1975 – 1976. Watson Collection.

The three positions on council (at the time called aldermen) had seven prospects: Bob Bishop, Jack Bright, Frans Carpay, Julianna Heine, John Hetherington, Jan Systad, and Garry Watson. Whistler residents had three chances to cast their votes with two days of advanced polling leading up to the election. It was reported that around 80% of eligible voters took part in the election and a total of 347 votes were cast. All voting took place at the Highland Lodge and the results were quickly reported in order to be ready for the swearing in of council the following day. In what became a very close race for council seats, Pat Carleton, Bob Bishop, John Hetherington, and Garry Watson were voted into office.

Whistler’s first council was officially sworn in on Sunday, September 7 by Judge Walker of the Squamish Provincial Court. Along with those who were elected, Jim Lorimer, the Minister of Municipal Affairs, announced Al Raine as the provincial appointee to council, bringing the total number of council members to five. During the ceremony, Carleton was presented with a gavel from the Squamish Lillooet Regional District (the area had previously been under the jurisdiction of the SLRD) along with a set of Lismore crystal glasses and an inscribed silver tray from Minister Lorimer.

Minister Jim Lorimer speaks at the swearing in ceremony of Whistler’s first council on September 7, 1975. Love Morrison Collection

Unfortunately for Paul and Jane Burrows, they missed the entire ceremony. The original plan was for the ceremony to take place in the Roundhouse at the top of Whistler Mountain and the lift company was going to provide free rides for attendees on the gondola and and Red Chair. The location was switched on short notice to the base of Whistler Mountain (today’s Creekside area), after the Burrows had already started hiking up the mountain with their dog. They only learned of the change when they reached the top and, as their dog was not allowed to tide the chairlift, were unable to make it back down before the ceremony concluded.

Whistler’s second council, 1976 – 1978. Watson Collection

The first council had a lot to get started on, including hiring their first staff members, developing an official community plan, beginning work on a municipal sewer system and treatment centre, drafting bylaws and having them approved by the province, finding more sustainable long-term waste solutions, and much more. They also had only fourteen months before the next municipal election. While most municipal office terms at the time were two years, the Minister of Municipal Affairs dictated the length of Whistler’s first municipal council. Another election took place on November 20, 1976, though the second council looked very similar to the first. All of the incumbents who chose to run again were re-elected and only one new face, that of Frans Carpay, joined Whistler’s council.

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Looking Ahead to 2025Looking Ahead to 2025

January 7, 2025 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

As we start 2025, the Whistler Museum is looking ahead at some fairly significant anniversaries for the Whistler area. The 2025/26 winter season is the 60th season of lift operations on Whistler Mountain and the 45th season for Blackcomb Mountain. This February will mark fifteen years since Whistler and Vancouver hosted the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in 2010. Off the mountains, the Resort Municipality of Whistler turns 50 in September, marking five decades of what some have called the “Whistler experiment.”

Though merged into one company these days, opening day for Blackcomb Mountain took place fifteen years after the opening day for Whistler Mountain. Greg Griffith Collection, 1980

The RMOW, Canada’s first resort municipality, was created through the Resort Municipality of Whistler Act, a piece of provincial legislation separate from the British Columbia Municipal Act and one that (with some changes) still governs Whistler today. Previously, the Whistler area had been governed as part of the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District and local interests were supported and championed by organizations such as the Whistler Mountain District Chamber of Commerce (formed in 1966, today the Whistler Chamber of Commerce) and the Alta Lake District Ratepayers Association (ALDRA).

Late in the summer of 1975, property owners and residents of the Whistler area (there were about 500 residents of all ages at the time) had a chance to elect their first municipal council and on September 6, 1975, five representatives were sworn into office at the gondola base of Whistler Mountain: Pat Carleton, Bob Bishop, John Hetherington, Garry Watson, and Al Raine.

Whistler’s first municipal council: Bob Bishop, Al Raine, Geoff Pearce (administrator), Mayor Pat Carleton, John Hetherington, and Garry Watson. Watson Collection.

Pat Carleton, Whistler’s first mayor, came to Alta Lake in 1956 for the fishing and retired to his home on Alpha Lake in 1971. Bob Bishop and his family moved to the Whistler area from Squamish in 1968. Bob, along with his partner Bernie Brown, developed the Whistler Cay neighbourhood, as well as the beginnings of the Whistler Golf Course. John “Bushrat” Hetherington, like many over the years, came to Whistler Mountain to ski and worked for the pro ski patrol while living in the original Toad Hall and later Tokum Corners. Garry Watson was first introduced to the area through the Garibaldi Olympic Development Association and the idea of hosting the Olympic Winter Games here.

Al Raine at work. Whistler Question Collection, 1982

Unlike the other members of the Whistler council, Al Raine was not elected to his position in 1975 but was appointed by the provincial government. A ski coach and consultant who advised on ski area development projects, Al worked for the BC Ministry of Lands as the provincial ski area coordinator where he was responsible for creating and implementing ski area policies and overseeing the development of ski areas. Through this position, he worked with the Ministry of Municipal Affairs to make Whistler a resort municipality and, for his efforts, was appointed to council from 1975 to 1982 (after Al stepped down to focus on his role as executive director of the Whistler Resort Association, his seat on council became an elected position).

Described by Garry Watson as “the energy” and “the innovator,” Al was deeply involved in the creation of the Whistler Village, the development of a ski area on Blackcomb Mountain, and much more. After leaving Whistler, he and his wife Nancy Greene continued to advocate for the importance of skiing, ski area development, and tourism in BC. Al served as Mayor of Sun Peaks from 2010 (when it became a municipality) to 2024, stepping down just before he sadly passed away last month.

Over the next year, we’re sure to hear and share many stories from the early days of the RMOW and we look forward to learning more about the people, organizations, and events that have shaped Whistler over the past five decades.

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Early Days at Municipal HallEarly Days at Municipal Hall

June 25, 2024 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 4 Comments

When the Resort Municipality of Whistler was formed in 1975, the organization was small enough that the for the first couple of years employees numbered in the single digits. According to Kris Shoup, when she was hired in 1977 as the secretary of the building inspector (Jim Murray, employee number one), she thinks she became the RMOW’s fourth employee.

Shoup arrived in Whistler for the summer in 1976 and never left. There were just over 500 residents in the valley at the time and, as Shoup put it, she “absolutely adored it” and “thought it was great.” A vet technician, she ran the vet clinic located in Alpine Meadows, though there was no vet living in Whistler full-time. The vet would come to Whistler once a week and do all the surgeries and appointments booked by Shoup, who did as much as she was able for the rest of the week. She got to know a lot of the residents working at the clinic as “everyone had a dog” and, in the case of an emergency such as a dog hit by a car, Shoup would try to stabilize the animal as much as possible so they could be driven to Squamish.

Whistler Council in its first formal portrait. (l to r) Alderman Bill Peterson, Alderman David O’Keefe, Administrator Geoff Pearce, Mayor Mark Angus, Municipal Clerk Kris Shoup Robinson, Alderman Bernie Hauschka and Alderman Terry Rodgers. Whistler Question Collection, 1983

In 1977, during a particularly bad winter for skiing, Shoup was hired as Jim Murray’s secretary, though she continued to work at the clinic for another year or two as well. About six months later, she became deputy clerk and then, when Geoff Pearce was promoted from municipal clerk to administrator, was told by Carleton, “Congratulations, you’re the new clerk.” Shoup held the position of municipal clerk until the mid-1980s.

During her tenure with the RMOW, Shoup worked out of a variety of locations, including the lunchroom of the original Myrtle Philip School, trailers, the “little green building” built using a government grant, and, finally, the current Municipal Hall after the Keg building was relocated.

Before the Keg could move the old municipal hall building had to be moved off the site. Whistler Question Collection, 1981

The Keg building was relocated from its original site on Alta Lake to its Village location in 1981. It would take three years, however, before municipal staff and council were able to move in and in the interim, Shoup and others worked out of the previous Town Hall, which had been moved down to Function Junction. During this period, Shoup recalled being able to run up to Loggers Lake at lunchtime for her daily swim. After the move to the Village, she continued her lunchtime swims but now in Lost Lake.

Municipal Clerk Kris Shoup Robinson packs it in Friday for the big move to bigger and better facilities at the new municipal hall in Whistler Village. Staff have been waiting in anticipation for the move. Whistler Question Collection, 1984

Whistler saw a lot of change from 1977 to the mid-1980s. According to Shoup, one of the most exciting things to happen while working at the RMOW was the day when Pearce, who was still the municipal clerk at the time, came out of a meeting and told her, “Hang on to your hat, we’re gonna build a town.” She also worked with Trevor Roote organizing public access along with the sewer system in order to build the Valley Trail, witnessed the planning and construction of the training wall along Fitzsimmons Creek (for flood prevention), and saw first-hand Mayor Pat Carleton’s excitement when they found out that a Delta Hotel would be built in the Whistler Village, Whistler’s first big branded hotel.

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RMOW Employee #2: Geoff PearceRMOW Employee #2: Geoff Pearce

June 18, 2024 Whistler MuseumWhistler Museum 0 Comments

When the first municipal council was sworn into office on September 6, 1975, the four councillors (Garry Watson, John Hetherington, Bob Bishop and Al Raine) and Mayor Pat Carleton were faced with the daunting task of building a resort in the ski area. As the first council of the Resort Municipality of Whistler, however, they first had to hire some municipal employees. Over the past few years, the museum has sat down with two of the earliest employees of the RMOW, Geoff Pearce and Kris Shoup, and heard about their experiences.

According to both Pearce and Shoup, the first position to be filled at the RMOW was that of building inspector. Jim Murray, who had previously been an inspector for the Squamish Lillooet Regional District, was the first hire of the new council. He was soon followed by Pearce, who began as municipal clerk.

The RMOW’s first council: Bob Bishop, Al Raine, Geoff Pearce (municipal clerk), Mayor Pat Carleton, John Hetherington and Garry Watson. Carleton Collection

Pearce moved to Whistler in February 1976, though he had already been called in to take minutes at a zoning bylaw meeting in December 1975 to get a feeling for Whistler. He had heard about the job from his boss in Squamish, where he was working as the municipal clerk, who told him that he should apply. Upon his arrival in Whistler, he found that it was pretty bare from logging but looked like it had “great potential.”

The workplace of the RMOW moved around quite a bit in the first few years. That first meeting Pearce attended took place at the gondola base in either L’Apres or the cafeteria and he remembered attending council meetings in Carleton’s garage and either the Mount Whistler Lodge or the Highland Lodge. Offices were set up in a trailer next to the liquor store (also located in a trailer at the time) and for a while RMOW staff worked out of the lunchroom of the first Myrtle Philip School, not far from the current location of Municipal Hall. This meant that municipal files and records also had to find temporary homes, such as at the home of Betty Jarvis, who was hired as the first municipal secretary by Pearce.

Staff and council meet in a somewhat makeshift conference room – Pearce can be seen above the shoulder of Garry Watson. George Benjamin Collection

For his first few months as municipal clerk, Pearce also functioned as the treasurer and collector of taxes. Outside of the RMOW, he worked as the approving officer for the area and was a volunteer firefighter as well. In 1980, Pearce was promoted to administrator, a position he held until 1985.

From bringing together private water systems to building a sewer system to planning and constructing the Town Centre, Pearce remembered that staff and council “worked really hard,” including working through the winter holidays of 1978/79. The development proposals for Phase 1 of the Town Centre were due December 22, 1978 and council, Sutcliffe, Moodie & Griggs (the project management firm leading the Town Centre project), and staff spent the next few weeks evaluating the proposals in order to announce the winners in early January 1979.

That’s not quite Geoff Pearce behind his nameplate reading Clerk/Treasurer – the Myrtle Philip School kindergarten class came for a visit in 1978. Whistler Question Collection, 1978

According to Peace, when he began working for the RMOW in 1976 the population of Whistler was around 530 people, which meant that you got to know most people quite well, especially those you worked with. He was invited to Carleton’s house for coffee with Pat and his wife Kay and, as part of his job was to personally deliver the council envelopes on Friday night to the councillors’ homes, he would often leave either John Hetherington or Franz Carpay (elected to Whistler’s second council) to last so he could sit down and have a beer. In between committee meetings and council meetings, the group would go out for dinner together, rotating through the various restaurants in the area.

Pearce left Whistler for Smithers in 1985, though he returned for a year before moving to Victoria. As recently as 2019, however, he still received calls looking for background knowledge of the RMOW’s early years. Next week, we’ll take a look at some of the experiences of Kris Shoup, the fourth employee of the RMOW.

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