Vancouver mayor to reflect on resident satisfaction following party's byelection defeats

Courtney Dickson · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 07, 2025 7:30 PM EDT | Last Updated: 8 minutes ago

Mayor Ken Sim says Vancouver's ABC enactment volition beryllium reflecting connected the results of past weekend's byelection successful which the enactment received lone a fraction of votes formed — contempt its monolithic occurrence successful the 2022 election. 

Sim's comments followed a quality conference for an unrelated substance Monday afternoon, little than 2 days aft 2 caller councillors were elected.

"Regardless if it's a byelection oregon not ... the world is we perceive to the residents of Vancouver each azygous day," Sim said. "There are capable of them that said they're not needfully blessed with everything that's going on.

"We're going to instrumentality a truly hard look astatine ourselves."

Once the caller councillors are sworn in, Vancouver metropolis assembly volition beryllium made up of six ABC councillors and Sim, erstwhile ABC-member-turned-Independent Rebecca Bligh, the Green Party's Pete Fry, Sean Orr of COPE and OneCity's Lucy Maloney. 

Orr won his spot with a whopping 34,448 votes, portion Maloney received 33,732. A full of 67,962 ballots were cast.

Behind them were candidates from TEAM and the Greens. ABC's Jamie Stein and Ralph Kaisers came successful past among candidates attached to municipal parties, with 9,267 and 8,915 votes, respectively. 

LISTEN | Lucy Maloney connected plans for council:

Maloney, an biology lawyer and proscription activist, said voters sent a connection to the enactment successful power. 

"I deliberation that ABC person mislaid interaction with what mean Vancouverites are acrophobic about," she said, pointing to lodging and affordability arsenic the apical precedence for residents. 

LISTEN | Sean Orr shares goals for council:

Orr, a lodging activist, landscaper and dishwasher said authorities successful the U.S. whitethorn person influenced voters successful Vancouver. 

"People are precise upset," helium said. "People are scared, and radical are starting to benignant of link the dots with what's going connected down south. You're seeing what Elon Musk and Donald Trump are doing there. They're benignant of seeing however the affluent bargain their mode into office."

While helium had yet to conscionable with Orr and Maloney, Sim publically welcomed the brace to assembly and said helium intended to conscionable with them Monday afternoon. 

Sim stands down campaigner choice

Kaisers, a longtime constabulary serviceman and caput of the Vancouver Police Department's union, faced immoderate contention during the campaign, including allegations that national officials instructed officers progressive successful the 2015 decease of Myles Gray not to instrumentality notes astir the incident. 

Gray, 33, died successful a wooded backyard successful Burnaby, B.C., aft an brushwood with 7 constabulary officers successful 2015.

A nationalist judicial proceeding into Gray's decease is acceptable for Jan. 19, 2026, which will, successful part, look into national officials' actions. No officers person ever been criminally charged successful narration to Gray's death.

As reported by the Globe and Mail, Kaisers, connected permission from his national presumption during the campaign, utilized idiosyncratic email addresses of national members to inquire for their support. He aboriginal apologized, calling the emails "a mistake," according to the newspaper.

Sim said some candidates were screened up of the campaign, and said Monday helium has nary regrets successful who the enactment chose to tally successful the byelection. 

"I'm arrogant of the decision," helium said. "I thought those 2 individuals were of precocious quality and prime and they would person served the residents of Vancouver well."