Chip Wilson fined over provincial election sign on Vancouver property

Elections BC has issued a penalty to former LuluLemon CEO Chip Wilson for erecting signs with political messages outside his Point Grey home during the 2024 provincial election.

The billionaire is expected to pay $600 for failing to register as a third-party advertising sponsor before the election.

A notice of the penalty explains that Wilson’s three signs, featuring political messages critical of Premier David Eby, had “significant exposure and reach.”

It adds that Wilson told investigators that the signs were homemade. Signage can be exempt from regulation if made by the owner using the owner’s materials.

Elections BC says it asked Wilson for proof that he had printed the signs himself and did not pay a sign maker or print shop. He reportedly admitted he had and promised to register as a third-party sponsor.

“A ‘sponsor’ is an individual or organization who receives a service from another individual or organization in undertaking an election advertising campaign. If the individual engaged the services of a third party to design, create or install the signs, they are a sponsor of election advertising, and the signs are a regulated form of election advertising,” the notice explained.

Acknowledging one of Wilson’s signs’ complaints about taxes, Eby, on a campaign stop at the time, said his government had gladly increased property taxes on homes worth over $3 million.

“I think [Wilson’s home is] worth $80 million, and we use that money to do things like breakfast programs for kids, to expand health care. In fact, the top 2 per cent of British Columbians are paying higher taxes under our government, and we use that to support the rest of British Columbians who are really struggling with affordability,” said Eby last year.

Wilson has two weeks to request a review of the investigation behind the penalty. Otherwise, he has 39 days to pay it. Despite his vast wealth, Elections BC also invited Wilson to seek relief from the BC Supreme Court.