It’s official: After serving as the acting director of one of the City of New Westminster’s newest departments, Blair Fryer has been appointed as its director.
Fryer, a New Westminster resident, was recently appointed as the city’s director of community services. He had been serving in that role since the department was created in 2024.
Lisa Spitale, the city’s chief administrative officer, said Fryer has shown tremendous commitment and leadership as he has taken on increasing responsibility over the years.
“I am confident in his ability to lead this new department and coalesce its diverse teams in order to successfully serve our community,” she said in a news release.
Fryer joined the City of New Westminster in 2008 as the manager of the then-newly created corporate communications division.
“I joined the city in 2008 to build the comms function for the organization and worked to bring a consistent look and feel to our outreach and launch new ways to inform the community,” he said. “I was tasked with doing the same for the economic development function in 2013, updating the city’s economic development strategy and, with the move of the business licence function under the division more recently, finding ways to make it easier to establish a business here.”
Last year, Fryer was named acting director of community services — a newly created department that brings together a number of “community-facing” divisions that had previously reported to the CAO’s office and the parks and recreation department. That includes several divisions at city hall (communications, public engagement, economic development and business licensing, and community partnerships, such as special events, community grants, filming, volunteer services) and Anvil Centre and its divisions (such as conference services, community arts and theatre, museums and heritage services, and New Media Gallery.)
“The structure fosters effective collaboration across these divisions and better positions us for success in our work serving the community and delivering on council’s community belonging and connecting and people-centred economy strategic priorities,” Fryer said.
Fryer said the new community services department has a very strong and talented team of staff who are eager to continue their work advancing the goals of council, business and residents. He said the department has a team of approximately 40 full-time staff, supplemented by a number of auxiliary employees throughout the year.
Fryer held senior roles in public relations, worked for provincial and federal governments, and ran his own communications and business development consultancy before joining the City of New Westminster.
“I see my new role as the culmination of my three decades of experience in communications and marketing, economic development, public relations and community service,” he told the Record. “Additionally, the knowledge that I have gained over the past 17 years of our organization and all of its moving parts, as well as the many community groups and organizations that make New West such a great place to live, are things that I plan on leaning into as I take on my new responsibilities.”
Fryer, a longtime New West resident, said being a resident of New West “absolutely” impacts his work for the City of New Westminster.
“In fact, my desire to contribute to my community through my work was the key motivator for me joining the city in 2008. As a longtime resident and parent raising my daughters here, I wanted to be a part of New Westminster’s growth and development from a small city at the centre of Metro Vancouver to a key regional player that punches well above our weight,” he said. “Working at the City of New Westminster has given me the opportunity to do that every day, and for that I’m thankful.”
New departments
In addition to the community services department, the City of New Westminster also created a new energy and climate action department as part of its 2024 budget. That restructuring proposal saw the city’s electrical department and climate action team integrated and renamed.
The new energy and climate action department’s mandate includes driving innovation and implementing components of council’s strategic plan related to the climate and environment.
In January, the city appointed Davinder (Dave) Bains as its director of energy and climate action. Longtime city employee Rod Carle had previously overseen the electrical department until his retirement in 2024.
