Kash Heed

Early life and policing career

Kash Heed was born in November 1955. He moved to Richmond, British Columbia, in 1965 and began his career in public service after graduating from the British Columbia Police Academy in 1979. His career with the Vancouver Police Department included commanding roles such as inspector in charge of District 3, which covers Vancouver's southeast quadrant, and later superintendent responsible for the city's southern sector. Heed also led specialized units, including the drug squad and an Indo-Canadian gang task force, and was instrumental in implementing the department's COMPSTAT information technology system for crime analysis. In June 2007, he was a candidate for the VPD's chief constable position but was not selected, losing to Deputy Chief Jim Chu. Days later, he was appointed chief constable of the West Vancouver Police Department, making history as the first Indo-Canadian police chief in Canada. He led the West Vancouver force for 19 months, advocating for the creation of a regional police force to combat gang crime, before resigning on February 23, 2009. Heed is a published author who also teaches criminology and criminal justice at two colleges in British Columbia. He has been a resident of Richmond since 1965.

Provincial political career and election controversy

Heed entered provincial politics on April 8, 2009, announcing his candidacy for the BC Liberal Party in the riding of Vancouver-Fraserview. His campaign used photographs of himself wearing a police uniform in his campaign materials, which his main opponent, the NDP's Gabriel Yiu, suggested was improper. Heed won the May 2009 election, defeating Yiu by a margin of 748 votes to become the riding's Member of the Legislative Assembly. On June 10, 2009, he was appointed to the cabinet of Premier Gordon Campbell as the Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General. His responsibilities under this portfolio included crime prevention, law enforcement, victim services, road safety and emergency preparedness across the province. He resigned his ministerial post on April 9, 2010, in response to an RCMP investigation into alleged Elections Act violations by his 2009 campaign office. The investigation revealed that his campaign team had distributed unregistered brochures targeting the NDP, which pushed his campaign spending over the legal limit. He initially admitted the overspend was $5,579. A special prosecutor, Terry Robertson, initially exonerated Heed of personal involvement, leading to his brief return to cabinet on May 4, 2010. Robertson resigned less than 24 hours later when it was discovered that the law firm he came from had made financial contributions to the BC Liberal Party, forcing Heed to step down again pending a more detailed probe. The distribution of the unregistered brochures brought Heed's campaign above the spending limit. The court ultimately revised the overspent amount to $4,000, and Heed was fined $8,000, twice the overspend amount, but was allowed to keep his seat in the legislature and cleared of criminal wrongdoing. He did not run for re-election in the 2013 provincial election, concluding his single term as MLA for Vancouver-Fraserview. This episode marked Heed as the third consecutive solicitor general to step down within a 25-month period.

Post-provincial politics, media work, and advisory roles

After leaving provincial politics, Heed remained engaged in public discourse through media and commentary. In 2016, he became the morning talk show host for Surrey's English-language radio station, 107.7 Pulse FM, a role he held until February 2017. He continued to voice opinions on law enforcement matters, notably criticizing the investigation into the July 2022 escape of suspected murderer Robbie Alkhalil from the North Fraser Pretrial Centre. On July 26, 2022, Heed stated he had never in his 32 years in policing seen such an inept investigation on a suspected murderer that has escaped from a secure institution and expressed a lack of confidence that the investigation would provide answers. This period also saw Heed involved in advisory roles in the private sector, specifically with companies in the cannabis and psychedelics industry. On March 29, 2023, the company Lucy Scientific announced Heed, then a sitting Richmond councillor, had joined as a Special Advisor. His advisory contract concluded on November 16, 2023. His consulting work with cannabis and psychedelics companies is part of his broader involvement in drug policy discussions. Heed has been a vocal commentator on policing issues following his career.

Municipal council tenure and policy initiatives

Kash Heed announced his return to electoral politics in August 2022, seeking a seat on Richmond City Council with the support of councillor Derek Dang. The two formed a joint slate called Richmond Rise. Heed also indicated he was considering a future bid for mayor. In the October 15, 2022, municipal election, Heed was elected, capturing the eighth and final council seat with 10,563 votes. As a councillor, he has focused on issues of public safety and drug policy, bringing his provincial and policing experience to local governance. In February 2024, he co-sponsored a motion with Councillor Laura Gillanders to direct city staff to study the feasibility of implementing a supervised consumption site at Richmond Hospital. The motion passed by a 7-2 vote on February 13, 2024, but faced significant community opposition, including a petition with over 16,000 signatures against the construction of any such site in Richmond. Following the vote, Mayor Malcolm Brodie stated the city would not seek approval to establish a site, and Vancouver Coastal Health also said it would not build a stand-alone facility. This motion is a documented part of his public record on drug policy and municipal decision-making. Heed has served on Richmond City Council since 2022.

2026 mayoral campaign and associated controversy

On October 23, 2025, with Mayor Malcolm Brodie not seeking re-election after 25 years in office, Heed announced his candidacy for mayor in the October 17, 2026, municipal election. He is running as an independent candidate, with his campaign highlighting over 60 years of residency in Richmond and experience in policing, government, and local governance. His campaign platform pledges include controlling taxes, making city hall more transparent, ensuring people facing addiction and mental health challenges receive treatment, and speeding up housing approvals. The 2026 mayoral race features several candidates alongside Heed, creating a competitive field for Richmond's open mayor's seat. His campaign, however, became involved in a controversy in July 2024 when a real estate agent, Jason Liu, posted a graphic on WeChat depicting a man in a turban with an Indian flag background. The graphic displayed numbers referencing Richmond's Chinese (54 per cent) and South Asian (seven per cent) community populations and included text questioning why an Indo-Canadian candidate was a frontrunner for mayor. Councillor Bill McNulty brought a motion to council condemning the graphic, calling it an absolute insult, while Councillor Laura Gillanders described it as racist. The motion, which did not name Liu but referred to newspaper articles about him, demanded an apology and referred the matter to the BC Human Rights Tribunal. Liu filed a petition in BC Supreme Court arguing the city acted without jurisdiction and unreasonably, seeking supervisory public-law relief. Liu stated the flag and turban were unintentionally added by an AI image generator and that he had apologized and removed the graphic without being asked. University of British Columbia law professor Margot Young commented that while a city council can flag discriminatory speech, she did not believe this case reached that threshold. None of the allegations in Liu's petition have been proven in court, and the City of Richmond declined to comment on the ongoing legal matter.

The declared candidates for the 2026 Richmond mayoral election, as of the latest information, include a diverse field of contenders from various slates and independents. Dickens Cheung is the candidate for the We Are Richmond party, which promotes a platform including property rights and zero tolerance for drug use normalization. Rob Howard is the candidate for the Richmond Forward slate, a former city councillor and BC Liberal MLA whose platform includes banning supervised injection sites. Mei Kang is the mayoral candidate for Action Richmond, the founder of a child care centre. Independent candidates include Goldentiger King, a former TV director and host, and Dennet “The Cat Guy” Lee, a gym owner. Alexa Loo, a two-time Olympian and three-term city councillor, is running under the Richmond Strong banner with a platform focusing on an agri-tech hub and flood protection.

Electoral record and political profile

Kash Heed has contested elections at multiple levels of government in British Columbia, with his political profile shaped by his law enforcement background and his experiences in both provincial and municipal office. His provincial victory in 2009 was narrow, and his subsequent municipal campaign in 2022 secured him a council seat. He has served in roles that required accountability and oversight of complex public safety systems, from leading a municipal police department to managing a provincial ministry. The following table outlines his key electoral performances and the context of each race, providing a clear record of his candidacies and results.

Throughout his career, Heed has been involved in law enforcement and drug policy discussions. He served on the Vancouver Police Department, reaching the rank of superintendent, and then as chief constable of the West Vancouver Police Department. He later served as a BC MLA and Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General. Heed announced on October 23, 2025, that he would run for mayor in the 2026 municipal election. His campaign for mayor represents his commitment to public service in the Metro Vancouver region.

Questions about Kash Heed

What is Kash Heed running for in 2026?

Kash Heed is a candidate for Mayor of Richmond in the 2026 municipal election. He announced his candidacy on October 23, 2025, and is running as an independent with no listed elector organization. The general election day is scheduled for October 17, 2026. This election is significant as it will see Richmond elect a new mayor for the first time in 25 years, following the decision of long-time mayor Malcolm Brodie not to seek re-election. Heed is one of several declared mayoral candidates in the race.

What was Kash Heed's role in the BC government?

Kash Heed served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia for the riding of Vancouver-Fraserview from 2009 to 2013 as a member of the BC Liberal Party. From June 10, 2009, to April 9, 2010, he held the cabinet position of Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General in the government of Premier Gordon Campbell. In this role, he was responsible for crime prevention, law enforcement, victim services, road safety, and emergency preparedness across the province. He resigned from cabinet due to an RCMP investigation into his election campaign's finances.

Why did Kash Heed resign as Solicitor General?

Heed resigned as Solicitor General on April 9, 2010, after the RCMP launched an investigation into violations of the Elections Act by his 2009 provincial election campaign team. The investigation found his team distributed unregistered brochures targeting the NDP, causing his campaign to exceed its spending limit. Although a special prosecutor initially cleared him of personal involvement, the prosecutor's subsequent resignation over his law firm's donations to the BC Liberals led to a deeper probe. Heed was ultimately fined $8,000 for an overspend of $4,000 but was cleared of criminal wrongdoing and kept his legislature seat.

What was the supervised consumption site motion Heed supported?

In February 2024, as a Richmond city councillor, Kash Heed co-sponsored a motion with Councillor Laura Gillanders to direct city staff to study the feasibility of implementing a supervised consumption site at Richmond Hospital. The motion passed by a vote of 7-2 on February 13, 2024. It faced intense community opposition, with over 16,000 people signing a petition against the construction of any such site in Richmond. Following the vote, Mayor Malcolm Brodie stated the city would not seek approval to establish a site, and Vancouver Coastal Health also said it would not build a stand-alone facility.

What controversy involved Kash Heed during the 2026 election campaign?

During the 2026 mayoral campaign, a real estate agent posted a social media graphic on WeChat that depicted a man in a turban with an Indian flag, alongside text commenting on the mayoral race and the ethnic demographics of Richmond. Richmond City Council passed a motion condemning the graphic and referring it to the BC Human Rights Tribunal. The author of the post, Jason Liu, filed a petition in BC Supreme Court arguing the city acted without jurisdiction and unreasonably. Liu stated the imagery was AI-generated and unintentional, and he had already removed the post. The court has not yet ruled on the petition.

What is Kash Heed's background in policing?

Kash Heed had a distinguished career in policing, serving on the Vancouver Police Department and reaching the rank of superintendent. He began his career after graduating from the British Columbia Police Academy in 1979. His roles included heading the drug squad and the Indo-Canadian gang task force, commanding District 3, and implementing the department's COMPSTAT information technology system. In June 2007, he was appointed chief constable of the West Vancouver Police Department, serving for 19 months and becoming the first Indo-Canadian police chief in Canada. He is also a published author who teaches criminology and criminal justice at two BC colleges.

Sources and further reading

• Kash Heed (Wikipedia)
• Kash Heed: Richmond Mayor Candidate 2026, Profile & Record (smartrichmond.ca)
• Kash Heed, independent for Richmond (en.votemate.org)
• Explainer: Meet Richmond's 7 mayoral candidates, The Runner (runnermag.ca)

Checked by the Nosy Mag desk. Last updated 2026-10-30.