In 2018, developer Eric Woodward told Langley voters he intended to give back to the community. He announced plans to transfer roughly $55 million worth of Fort Langley properties into a new community foundation that would direct profits to local causes. Two months later, he was elected to council.

Public records show that, as of 2025, the Eric Woodward Foundation does not appear to own any Fort Langley real estate. The properties identified in the original plan remain registered to Fort Langley Properties Ltd., a for-profit company for which Mr. Woodward is listed as sole director.

Corporate filings indicate that since 2023, Fort Langley Properties Ltd. has sold approximately $9.9 million in real estate. When asked by the Investigative Journalism Foundation whether any proceeds had been directed to charitable purposes, Mr. Woodward declined to provide details, reportedly saying only that he “could explain” but “why would I.”

The foundation is not currently listed as a registered charity with the Canada Revenue Agency. According to correspondence reviewed from the B.C. Registrar of Companies, both the foundation and its related entity, the Fort Langley Project Society, were reminded in June 2025 of their statutory duty to file annual financial statements. A follow-up order dated July 31 requested submission within ten days. As of September 2025, no filings appear in the public record.

Mr. Woodward later told reporters the statements weren’t prepared but were being finalized for the 2023 year-end. The Registrar’s online database still hadn’t received statements a week after Woodward’s comments.

While official filings are missing, the foundation’s name has appeared on event and scholarship materials. Vendor applications for the Fort Langley Cranberry Festival were, until recently, linked to a foundation-branded website. Mr. Woodward has said the organization is no longer involved with that event.

In 2022, the foundation announced a four-year scholarship program for eight local students. Court filings confirm that in 2024 one recipient—identified in public pleadings as the daughter of former councillor Barb Martens—brought a civil claim after the award was cancelled. The case was later settled, with terms undisclosed. Mr. Woodward has since stated that the scholarships were relaunched through the Langley School District Foundation (LSDF), though he has not specified how much was paid under the original program.

Mr. Woodward has said the charitable initiative took “a back seat” after he became mayor and that the foundation is separate from his public office. Nonetheless, the commitment to donate his holdings was a central theme of his early political messaging and helped present him as a developer prepared to forgo private profit for community benefit.

At present, Fort Langley Properties Ltd. continues to hold an estimated $55 million in property. Until the foundation files financial statements or publicly confirms asset transfers, questions about the status of that 2018 pledge remain unresolved.

Transparency was the principle behind the promise; fulfilling it may begin with the release of the books.