About Mike

North Vancouver has been part of my life for as long as I can remember, and my roots here go back decades. I live in the City of North Vancouver today, the city I'm running to lead. We raised our three children here. I built a software company here that created more than 20 highly skilled, well-paying local jobs. After a long career in business, I'm stepping away from the private sector to return to public service - because this community has given me a lot, and I'm not done giving back.

I've served this community before

None of these jobs come with a spotlight. All of them come with budgets, hard choices, and neighbours counting on you to get it right.

Elected School Board Trustee: chosen by voters to help govern our public schools
District Library Board: stewardship of one of our best-loved public institutions
Parent Advisory Council Chair: the ground floor of public education, where parents meet the system
Advisory Board, Cheakamus Centre: known to generations as the Outdoor School, now home to an Environmental Learning Centre
Strata council presidentnow
Director, Celebrate North Vancouver Societynow: working to bring back North Vancouver's Canada Day Parade

Mike McGraw speaking to a group at Cheakamus Centre — Briefing elected officials on the Outdoor School's new Environmental Learning Centre for elementary students (2011).

Mike McGraw at Canada Day celebrations in North Vancouver — Celebrating the inaugural Canada Day Stationary Parade with my fellow Society directors (2026): proof of what five committed volunteers can accomplish. Our fifth director, instrumental in the planning, was travelling and much missed in this photo.

"They are managing increasingly complex multimillion-dollar assets, infrastructure, finances, legal risk, community governance... almost the fourth level of government."

Katharine Olson, founder, Groundbreaking Strata - on what strata councils actually do

That's the job I do today as a volunteer: budgets, maintenance, legal risk, and the different needs of 57 homes and 10 businesses under one roof. It's unglamorous, and it's exactly the kind of work City Hall is supposed to be good at.

What neighbours are saying

"Quote text here."

First name L., Neighbourhood

Want to know where I stand? Start with the issues. Want to know something this page didn't answer? Ask Mike - I won't be hard to find.