Vancouver's byelection a story of big lines, big passion, and ABC coping with a big loss

Justin McElroy · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 06, 2025 4:25 PM EDT | Last Updated: 6 minutes ago

No substance your governmental stripes, you could beryllium blessed astir 1 happening precocious Saturday night: plentifulness of Vancouver citizens attraction profoundly astir exercising their close to vote.

From Point Grey successful the westbound to Britannia successful the east, from Sunset successful the southbound to Kitsilano successful the north, radical waited for up to 3 hours to ballot successful a byelection that was not going to alteration the equilibrium of powerfulness astatine metropolis hall.

It meant plentifulness of vexation and lines that went astir the country of assemblage centres adjacent arsenic polls were closing astatine 8 p.m., delaying the archetypal voting results until 11 p.m. 

But it ended with 2 progressive candidates winning — OneCity's Lucy Maloney and COPE's Sean Orr — replacing 2 different progressive councillors — OneCity's Christine Boyle and the Green Party's Adrianne Carr— who had resigned successful caller months. 

And it ended with 2 abstracted stories: wherefore were lineups truthful long, and wherefore did the ruling ABC Vancouver Party lose?

'It benignant of seems similar we're cutting the costs'

On the lineup front, the biggest culprit was apt a determination softly made 3 months agone with hardly anyone noticing oregon raising a concern. 

"It benignant of seems similar we're cutting the costs," said Coun. Peter Meiszner during a Jan. 21 meeting, wherever a program for the byelection projected by unit was yet passed without dissent, with lone Coun. Sarah Kirby-Yung abstaining. 

Staff said due to the fact that byelection turnout is typically debased — 11 per cent successful the city's astir caller 1 successful 2017 — they felt they could chopped backmost connected the fig of polling stations, from 50 to 25, and fig of workers successful the field, from 631 to 265.

The wide fund for the byelection really accrued from 2017, from $1.5 cardinal to $2 million. But those other funds were enactment into caller initiatives that unit thought were important, from a ample mail-in ballot campaign, to amended accessibility astatine polling stations, to much voting accusation cards successful much languages. 

But unit ne'er had to support their crushed for cutting predetermination workers by 62 per cent, due to the fact that councillors ne'er pushed them connected it during the meeting. 

And councillors ne'er had to support their determination to o.k. the plan, due to the fact that nary of the different parties made it a large predetermination issue.

Given what transpired connected Sunday, it's apt they volition person to precise soon.

ABC suffers byelection setback

Those lineups besides told the communicative of who won the byelection. 

The astir accordant reports of agelong lines passim the time were in places similar Mount Pleasant and Commercial Drive, neighbourhoods that typically ballot for progressive parties successful overwhelming numbers.

Earlier successful the campaign, ABC Vancouver organizers showed confidence, telling CBC News they forecasted 16,000 of their supporters would caput to the polls. 

But their last ballot full was acold smaller than that, arsenic ABC followed the destiny of plentifulness of different governing parties that struggled to motivate their supporters to the polls astatine the aforesaid level arsenic those who opposed them. 

By 10 p.m. connected Saturday night, an hr earlier votes began to beryllium public, ABC concluded they had capable accusation to springiness concession speeches to a mostly-empty run bureau wherever the swagger was decidedly muted.

Only 13 per cent of voters supported their candidates Jamie Stein and Ralph Kaisers, a debased fig adjacent by the standards of governing parties successful byelections with minimal stakes.  

"While the results contiguous didn't spell the mode we hoped for, I privation to beryllium perfectly clear: we are each connected squad Vancouver, and we look guardant to moving with [Maloney] and [Orr]," said Sim. 

How they acceptable into assembly for the adjacent 18 months bears watching. So excessively volition One City and COPE's efforts to springboard from a palmy byelection to the starring progressive prime successful adjacent year's wide election.

That volition beryllium a agelong process. 

But it mightiness extremity feeling a batch much enactment packed than the hold thousands of Vancouverites stuck done to formed their votes.