Before he made the jump to politics, B.C. real estate developer Eric Woodward announced a plan to transfer $55 million worth of property to a new charity. All profits from developing or renting that land, he said, would go toward local causes.

The 2018 municipal election was in sight for the Township of Langley in B.C.’s Fraser Valley, and Woodward told a local newspaper the move could help him avoid conflict-of-interest allegations if he decided to run. Two months later, Woodward was elected to council. By 2022, he was mayor.