Update: Vancouver byelection results a blow for Mayor Ken Sim’s ABC party
Meanwhile, Vancouver’s city manager acknowledged that one-to-two-hour wait times during Saturday’s byelection were “unacceptable”
Last updated 7 hours ago
You can save this article by registering for free here. Or sign-in if you have an account.
Vancouver voters dealt a blow to Mayor Ken Sim and his ABC party on Saturday, throwing their support behind two left-leaning candidates in a byelection widely seen as a critique of their governance.
Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.
- Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account.
- Get exclusive access to the Vancouver Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on.
- Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists.
- Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists.
- Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.
Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.
- Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account.
- Get exclusive access to the Vancouver Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on.
- Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists.
- Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists.
- Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.
Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.
- Access articles from across Canada with one account.
- Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.
- Enjoy additional articles per month.
- Get email updates from your favourite authors.
Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.
- Access articles from across Canada with one account
- Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments
- Enjoy additional articles per month
- Get email updates from your favourite authors
Sign In or Create an Account
tap here to see other videos from our team.
Update: Vancouver byelection results a blow for Mayor Ken Sim’s ABC party Back to video
tap here to see other videos from our team.
While the ABC party still holds the balance of power on council with seven of 11 seats, the results showed clear disenchantment with the ruling party, which won a landslide victory in the 2022 municipal election on a promise to fix a dysfunctional city hall and improve public safety.
The byelection drew higher-than-normal turnout and saw voters waiting in line for up to three hours at chaotic and understaffed polling stations.
Sean Orr of COPE and Lucy Maloney of OneCity claimed decisive victories, capturing 34,448 and 33,732 votes, respectively, according to unofficial results posted online.
In an early morning call on Sunday, Orr said he was still absorbing the win: “I have to pinch myself.”
Orr said voters showed they are ready for change.
“Citizens felt alienated by ABC’s lack of responsiveness and lack of integrity, running roughshod over our democratic institutions, firing the park board, pausing the work of the integrity commissioner, barely showing up to council meetings, increasing his [mayor’s office] budget to $1.5 million, increasing property taxes while cutting services,” said Orr.
On Sunday, Sim released a statement to Postmedia that said, in part, “While the results didn’t go the way we had hoped, I want to be absolutely clear: We’re all on Team Vancouver. Congratulations to Lucy and Sean for their win, we look forward to working with both of them to build a better city for all of us.”
Maloney, a first-time politician, said she believes ABC councillors are ready to “vote with their conscience” on items of importance to Vancouverites, rather than vote along party lines.
-
Advertisement embed-more-topicStory continues belowThis advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.
“ABC is not a cohesive unit, they are already not voting as a block. I’m sure that in some instances we are going to have great success at getting reasonable policies through that improve the lives of ordinary Vancouverites,” said Maloney.
Maloney said her first step will be to reestablish the City of Vancouver’s Renter Office, a tenants’ rights body abolished by ABC against the advice of city staff in 2023.
Maloney said housing affordability was the No. 1 issue she heard about while door-knocking during the campaign.
“This victory signals that voters want a truly vibrant city that makes sure our young people, our artists, our seniors can stay in our city,” she said.
Orr said he expects a steep learning curve, but he’s ready for it.
“I plan to report back to the people on everything I’m seeing and use my position for full accountability and transparency, advocate for workers and reverse the punitive and cruel ban on supportive housing,” said Orr.
TEAM candidates Colleen Hardwick came in third with 17,352 votes, while Theodore Abbott won 11,581 votes.
“This election was a referendum on Ken Sim and ABC. They were on the bottom,” said Hardwick.
Although she called the results disappointing, personally, Hardwick said it’s just the beginning on the road to the next municipal election in 2026.
“2026 is going to be an existential election for the City of Vancouver,” she said. “We’ve got a majority council joined at the hip with developers. We need to manage growth so amenities, parks, schools grow in balance with development.”
ABC Vancouver had hoped to solidify its majority with candidates Jaime Stein and Ralph Kaisers, but Stein received only 9,267 votes and Kaisers garnered 8,915 votes.
On Sunday, Stein told Postmedia he was disappointed, but said listening to diverse voices during the campaign had deepened his commitment to public service.
“Vancouver faces significant challenges that transcend party lines, from housing affordability to community safety, and I remain dedicated to contributing constructive solutions.
Just under 68,000 ballots were cast, representing a turnout of 15.09 per cent of registered voters. According to a news release from the city, voter turnout was 40 per cent higher than for the 2017 byelection.
An additional 5,430 ballots were cast by mail.
Green candidate Annette Reilly who came fourth, with 15,045 votes, said people showed up to vote because they were unhappy with Sim and his ABC party.
“People were mad,” said Reilly, who plans to run again in 2026. “I was hoping for was a show of democracy and that’s what happened. I’m really proud of the people of Vancouver for getting out there, showing up and waiting in those long lineups.”
Vancouver’s byelection was marked by lineups of more than one to two or more hours at voting stations across the city.
Once the voting stations closed at 8 p.m., anyone who was still in line got a chance to cast their ballot, according to a post from the city.
Social media was flooded with comments about the lengthy queues.
The elections office said it modelled its operations based on data from the previous two byelections, and this one had “significantly higher” voter turnout comparatively.
After record voter turnout in advance polling, the office said it added 45 staff members to help with the expected turnout.
In the lead-up to Saturday’s byelection, candidates running against ABC had dubbed the byelection a referendum on the performance of Vancouver’s reigning party and Mayor Ken Sim.
The Greens, OneCity, and COPE all attacked ABC as a party that serves the interests of the wealthy at the expense of everyone else, and described Sim as a leader distracted by things most people don’t want, like abolishing the park board and investing city money in bitcoin.
Historically, homeowners are more likely to vote than renters, but observers predicted that there would be more tenants at the polls for one reason, the Broadway plan, which was designed to densify a roughly 500-block area along the Broadway corridor.
Official results of this weekend’s byelection are expected April 9.
Big turnout leads to ‘unacceptable’ waits
Vancouver’s city manager acknowledged Sunday that wait times during Saturday’s byelection were “unacceptable.”
Paul Mochrie issued a statement thanking municipal voters for the impressive turnout, with about 67,962 ballots cast.
That represents a turnout of just over 15 per cent, which may sound relatively low but is a 40 per cent increase from the last byelection in 2017.
“I want to thank each voter for your commitment to the democratic process and for the remarkable patience you demonstrated during long wait times experienced over the course of the day at many polling stations across the city.
“Moreover, I want to acknowledge that voting wait times that many electors experienced yesterday were unacceptable.”
He blamed the delays at many voting places on “flawed planning assumptions for this byelection that informed staff decisions and the plan presented to council.”
He said the elections team did their best to execute the plan, but “it was clearly insufficient to accommodate the electorate in accessing an efficient voting process. These shortcomings are deeply regrettable and I apologize to all voters impacted by delays, as well as to candidates and civic parties.”
Mochrie vowed to work with city staff “to ensure that lessons from yesterday’s byelection inform the planning and execution of the 2026 general municipal election and all future City of Vancouver election efforts.
“The conduct of elections is one of our responsibilities as a local government that does not present a margin for error. Our role is to provide a voting process that is efficient, accessible, and reflective of the trust that voters and elected officials place in the civil service to support the electoral process.
“We will do better moving forward.”
With files from Dan Fumano, Joseph Ruttle and Tiffany Crawford
