Note: This blog is now closed. Read on for a recap of the 2026 municipal elections across Metro Vancouver.

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

or View more offers

It’s a new era for some and familiar faces for others.

The 2026 general elections across B.C. have wrapped up and there’s a smattering of new and old mayors and councils across Metro Vancouver.

Read through our recap of the day’s events, results as they came in, and dispatches from reporters stationed in municipalities throughout the region.

RECAPS FROM ACROSS METRO VANCOUVER:

• Vancouver

• Burnaby

• Delta

• Langley: City and Township

• New Westminster

• North Shore

• Richmond

• Surrey

• Tri-Cities: Port Moody, Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam

To find out who’s been voted in for mayor, council, school and park boards, click the arrow up top and select your municipality from the drop-down list.

Sunday, Oct. 18

12:11 a.m.: Postmedia News thanks readers for joining us on election night

A huge thank you to our readers for following along as we covered the 2026 B.C. municipal election across Metro Vancouver on Oct. 17.

Whether it’s new mayors in West Vancouver and Richmond or a familiar face in Surrey, many municipalities will be waking up to a different era at city hall.

Check back right here on Sunday as we jump back into election analysis once the excitement of election day has settled.

Saturday, Oct. 17

11:25 p.m.: Rob Howard to be Richmond’s first new mayor in 25 years

It’s official: Richmond’s new mayor is Rob Howard.

Howard said he was deeply honoured that the people of Richmond have placed their trust in him. Howard was elected with 19,676 votes over Alexa Loo, who snagged 18,796 votes, and Kash Heed, who won 11,111 votes.

1. Advertisement 1

   Story continues below

   This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.

Howard’s slim lead in Richmond fluctuated with every new poll reporting but it held throughout the evening.

Supporters at Lavash Seafood Grill on Steveston’s waterfront exploded into cheers before the final voting results were in, but Howard maintained a sensible guarded optimism even has his team cheered.

“I knew it would be close,” he said.

Alexa Loo sent word within minutes that she was coming to congratulate him.

Howard said endorsements from outgoing mayor Malcolm Brodie (who was on site as returns came in) and former mayor Greg Halsey-Brandt gave his team a bump. “They made a big difference,” he said.

Brodie declined to comment. “This is Rob’s night,” he said.

Councillors elected were Gary Law, Carol Day, Michael Wolfe, Sheldon Starrett, Laura Gillanders, Kenny Chiu, Kevin Lai and Andy Hobbs. Richmond Forward council candidates Romeo Bicego, Howard Jampolsky, Melissa Zhang, Eric Yung and Shelley Leonhardt were not elected to council seats.

School Trustees elected are Ken Hamaguchi, Heather Larson, Rod Belleza, Danny Chang, Dean Billings, Alice Wong and Donna Sargent.

-Denise Ryan

11 p.m.: Melissa Granum knocks off political heavyweights in Delta

Melissa Granum pulled off a landslide victory in Delta, with 49 per cent of the vote, 14,988 to Dylan Kruger’s 28 per cent (8,567), and George Harvie’s 23 per cent (6,985) at 10 p.m.

Early in the night, there was a real buzz at the Kruger party, which was quite posh and held in the ballroom of the Cascades Casino in Delta. It filled up just after 8 p.m.

But the first result coming in was a shocker — Granum had leapt to an early lead, with 1,414 votes (56 per cent) as opposed to 630 (25 per cent) for Kruger and 460 for Harvie.

The second result was closer — Granum led with 3,861 (47 per cent) to 2,592 for Kruger (31 per cent). Harvie looked in trouble, a distant third with 1,752 (21 per cent).

The Delta website said the early results were from the advance and mail-in votes. But Granum continued to lead as more results came in, with 50 per cent at 9 p.m., and never looked back.

Her party was at the Sundance Hotel, in an out-of-the-way location on Ladner Trunk Road. The sign on the corner was partly burnt out — the contrast to the Kruger party was striking.

But inside the pub it was packed, with deliriously happy supporters who probably couldn’t believe she had pulled off the upset.

“You know what? I think there was a groundswell of support for hope for the future, and transparent governance and change,” said Granum. “Since the beginning, this has been a grassroots effort. It’s been about everyday residents working together for change. And this was the first place (the Sundance) we had our very first fundraiser, and we wanted to finish off where we started.”

Granum’s Delta First party also picked up all three council seats they ran for, which gives the party a majority on council.

Granum is a newcomer to electoral politics but has extensive experience in government. She took a leave from her job as director of board governance at the B.C. Lottery Corp. to run for mayor. She has also worked with the Delta and Surrey police boards.

-John Mackie

10:51 p.m.: Kirk LaPointe wins in West Van; Linda Buchanan re-elected in North Van City; Mike Little re-elected in North Van District

On the North Shore, voters opted for almost total change on council with mayoral challenger Kirk LaPointe unseating incumbent Mark Sager, but the City of North Vancouver and District of North Vancouver settled for the same with both incumbents Linda Buchanan and Mike Little re-elected along with half of their incumbent councils.

Sager, who was running for his second term as mayor in a long career in civic politics, fell to the campaign of newcomer LaPointe, a longtime news executive and former managing editor of The Vancouver Sun, who promised change and new ideas.

With all polls reporting, LaPointe won with 5,215 votes over Sager’s 3,799. Third place contender, Coun. Sharon Thompson, trailed at 2,510 votes.

“I think they wanted to be heard more, I think they wanted to be listened to,” LaPointe said, among well wishers at a jubilant victory party in Park Royal’s Village Taphouse.

LaPointe added that he entered the race with a plan for change and was up against contenders “talking about their performance.”

And, as he talked to voters, deduced that their idea of a new plan for the community “was really my plan.”

“And I think people just hadn’t seen the progress that they wanted in the last council,” LaPointe added.

-Derrick Penner

10:35 p.m.: Vancouver mayor elect Pete Fry vows to ‘work for the city’

Pete Fry is Vancouver’s guy.

At the Green Party of Vancouver’s election-night party on Saturday night, the jubilant crowd chanted to celebrate their candidate’s win in the mayor’s race: “Our guy Pete Fry! Our guy Pete Fry!”

Fry, a two-term Vancouver councillor, unseated the incumbent mayor, Ken Sim of ABC Vancouver, in an election that saw the city government swing to the left.

Fry will become Vancouver’s first Green mayor, and he will be joined in a new-look civic government with other Greens, as well as representatives of the city’s other major left-leaning parties, COPE and OneCity.

“We love the city a lot, and we’re here to work for the city, to fight for the city,” said Fry at his election night party.

The mayor elect even thanked the students of Vancouver’s Elsie Roy Elementary, which he visited Friday on the campaign trail.

“Shout out to the kids of Elsie Roy. I’ve been winning all these elementary school elections around the city and the kids were so jazzed. What they loved was the positive message and they loved the little guy … so thank you so much,” he said.

“They liked the fact that there was something to be hopeful about and it was a real reminder to me like, yeah, that’s who we’re doing this for.

“So folks, we have an amazing city and we’re so lucky to live here. We’re here because we love it here. We love this city, and we’re going to work for this city.”

ABC Vancouver, which swept to power in 2022 as a new centre-right party, was almost wiped out this year. After ABC won the mayor’s office by a wide margin in 2022 and saw all 18 affiliated candidates top the polls for council, school board, and park board, the once-dominant party was reduced this year to a single seat.

With 148 of 149 voting places reporting, at past midnight Saturday, Fry had 89,706 votes, well ahead of Sim’s 63,072.

At the ABC Vancouver party in the Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre, Sim addressed the crowd after he conceded to Fry.

“Obviously tonight, voters wanted to go in a different direction — not just in the mayor’s office but with council, park and school board as well,” a subdued Sim told supporters. “I think it’s important we acknowledge that.”

Sim said he entered political life so he could create a better city for his children. But he acknowledged that the job meant he wasn’t always there for his kids.

“For that, boys, I totally apologize. I love you. You’re going to see a lot more of Dad over the next little while.”

Sim described being elected to the mayor’s office as “the highlight of my life.”

“When I’m on my death bed, I’ll look back at this time as probably the most meaningful thing I’ve been involved with. And with that, thank you again, and we’ll see you out on the streets somewhere, I’m sure.”

-Dan Fumano

10:50 p.m.: Close race to see who will fill Malcolm Brodie’s shoes after 25 years

Rob Howard’s slim lead in Richmond fluctuates with every new voting place reporting. With 38 of 51 voting places reporting, Howard is leading at 14,006, with Alexa Loo at his heels with 13,477, and Kash Heed a distant 7,765.

Howard seems buoyant, but is maintaining a sense of guarded optimism even has his team cheered with every result that came in. “It’s way too early to call it,” he said. “I knew it would be close, so this is what we expected.”

Current councillors Carol Day, Michael Wolfe, Laura Gillanders and Andy Hobbs hold strong leads early on, with Bob Basanti, Gary Law, Sheldon Starrett and Jerome Dickey also leading in the next four council positions.

-Denise Ryan

10:18 p.m.: Mike Hurley back again for third term as Burnaby mayor

Burnaby has made its choice: Mike Hurley will be Burnaby mayor for a third term, defeating five challengers to extend his eight years in office.

-Sarah Grochowski

10:10 p.m.: Vancouver school board could swing left as early results come in

Early results in Vancouver’s school board race show candidates from left-leaning parties, COPE, OneCity and the Vancouver Greens, in the lead.

COPE candidates are leading, with its full slate — Suzie Mah, Melanie Cheng, Derrick O’Keefe and Gwen Giesbrecht — taking the top four spots.

OneCity’s Krista Sigurdson, Rory Brown, Sherry Breshears and Steve Cardwell, along with Green candidate Julie Strilesky round out the top nine, with 33 out of 149 voting places reporting.

Thirty-one candidates are vying for nine trustee positions in Vancouver.

-Cheryl Chan

10:03 p.m.: What’s old is new again as Brenda Locke concedes defeat to former mayor Doug McCallum

Brenda Locke has conceded defeat to former mayor Doug McCallum who has been leading the polls the majority of the night in Surrey.

Locke lost her early lead to former mayor McCallum, with 111 out of 164 polls reported so far. Locke has dropped to 22.2 per cent of the vote, with McCallum leading with 33 per cent.

“Surrey voters have definitely spoken and this was not the result we counted on,” Locke said to a very solemn crowd.

Locke went on to congratulate McCallum.

When asked by reporters if she will run again in the future, Locke said, “Never say never.”

Other candidates were not able to close the gap, with Linda Annis at 12.6 per cent and Mike Starchuk at 11.9 per cent.

McCallum entered a raucous banquet hall just after 10 p.m.

“We will address affordability, we will address your safety, and we will address your infrastructure,” he said.

“I love Surrey. That’s why I ran. … But I even love the people of Surrey more. Together we’re going to build a great city that our families will live in, have jobs, go to sports, enjoy each other, work together to make one of the best global cities in the world.”

McCallum drew big applause when he said he planned to appoint Mandeep Nagra as his deputy mayor. The energy in the room remained high even as many began to trail out.

-Sobia Moman

10 p.m.: Brad West wins again in Port Coquitlam, Craig Hodge leads in Coquitlam and it’s a close race in Port Moody

Coquitlam has voted in Craig Hodge as its new mayor while it was another landslide victory for Port Coquitlam’s Brad West.

In Port Moody, it was a close race between incumbent Meghan Lahti and Haven Lurbiecki but shortly after 10 p.m., with Lurbiecki in the lead, Lahti conceded defeat.

“While I am disappointed with the outcome of tonight’s election, I wish Haven all the best,” Lahti told Postmedia.

It was an early win Saturday evening for West, who went uncontested in the last election. He was challenged by newcomers Connor Fesenmaier and Pasquale Zampieri. All six of the city’s incumbent councillors were also voted back in.

“Thank you, Port Coquitlam. I am deeply humbled and grateful for the trust you have placed in me once again,” said West. “I love this community, I believe in its people, and I have never taken for granted the privilege of working on your behalf.”

West had campaigned on making Port Coquitlam affordable by keeping taxes low and funding parks and sport facilities, while also promising to maintain infrastructure and address safety issues such as vandalism.

“We live in a time when too many people are losing confidence that government understands their struggles or is capable of making their lives better. I believe we can restore that confidence,” added West.

“Not through slogans or empty promises, but through hard work, competence over ideology, and results people can actually see and feel.”

In Coquitlam, it was a three-way race to replace retiring mayor Richard Stewart, a stalwart who had served in the role for nearly two decades. Hodge, who ran against mayoral candidates Madhavee Inamdar and Trish Mandewo, was declared winner with a significant majority of votes.

-Tiffany Crawford

9:46 p.m.: Pete Fry leading mayor’s race as early results trickle in

As the early results started to trickle Saturday night in for the Vancouver municipal election, Green Coun. Pete Fry was leading incumbent Mayor Ken Sim of ABC Vancouver.

ABC Vancouver swept to power as a new party in 2022, winning the mayor’s office by a wide margin and all of their candidates topping the polls for council, school board, and park board. Four years later, the early results from Saturday show the once-dominant party at risk of being eliminated from the municipal government altogether.

With 29 out of 149 voting places reporting, Fry had 25,358 votes, well ahead of Sim’s 16,185. Colleen Hardwick of TEAM for a Livable Vancouver was in third, followed by the Vancouver Liberals’ Kareem Allam, and Vote Vancouver’s Rebecca Bligh.

In the 2022 election, seven of 10 council seats were won by ABC Vancouver, but in the early results Saturday, only one of the nine ABC council candidates, incumbent Coun. Mike Klassen, was in the top 10 spots. Incumbent COPE Coun. Sean Orr was leading the council race the early results, with 13,352 votes. Three other COPE council candidates, three Greens, and two OneCity candidates rounded out the top 10 council spots early on.

The early results showed no ABC candidates in the top seven spots for seven park board seats, or the top nine spots for any of the school board seats. Instead, those races were led by candidates from COPE, OneCity, and the Greens.

-Dan Fumano

9:34 p.m.: New Westminster heads in new direction with new mayor

New Westminster has resoundingly voted in a new mayor, a new council and a new school board, with mayor-elect Daniel Fontaine’s party, the Progressives, all but sweeping every seat in all three races.

His noisy and exuberant supporters erupted in hoots and hollers when Fontaine’s win became official.

“Many people said we simply couldn’t beat the machine, but we proved them all wrong,” Fontaine told his supporters in his victory speech at the Inn at the Quay.

Fontaine, who as a Métis from southern Manitoba is the city’s first Indigenous mayor, pledged in his victory speech to build a “more economically vibrant city” and to spend on housing affordability, public safety, parks and recreation facilities and infrastructure, while keeping tax increases to within inflation.

The Progressives swept out outgoing mayor Patrick Johnstone’s Community First party and all but wiped it out.

The Progressives won all six council seats and six of seven trustee positions. Community First was left with one trustee position, held by Mary Trentadue.

The raucous cheering in Fontaine’s hotel room at the Inn at the Quay was in stark contrast to those who gathering at City Hall chambers to watch the results with Johnstone.

After the first results showed the Progressives leading in the mayor’s race and across the board, the room fell deadly quiet.

Johnstone, with only 13 of 23 polls reporting early on, accepted the loss and said he was disappointed.

“I thought we ran a good campaign and we’re really proud of the work we did over the past four years, so I’m a little surprised,” said an emotional Johnstone toward the night’s end.

-Susan Lazaruk

9:32 p.m.: Newcomer Jay Lundgren is voted mayor of Langley Township; Eric Woodward loses seat

Jay Lundgren is the new mayor of Langley Township, with 54 per cent of the vote compared to 46 per cent for incumbent Eric Woodward.

Six members of Lundgren’s Langley Strong slate were also elected for the eight places on council.

An excited crowd at the Fort Langley golf course Saturday night broke out in chants of “Jay, Jay, Jay” as Lundgren was declared mayor elect. Among those in attendance were several former politicians, including past Liberal MLA Rich Coleman and NDP MLA Megan Dykeman, community advocates and business leaders, like Thomas Martini.

An emotional Lundgren thanked supporters, saying he only planned to run for council but was encouraged by his dad who said “I think you were made for this.”

As of 9:20 p.m., no results had come in for Langley City.

-Glenda Luymes

9:26 p.m.: Port Coquitlam incumbent Mayor Brad West handily wins re-election

It was an early lead and win for incumbent Brad West, who went unchallenged in the last election in Port Coquitlam to win as Port Coquitlam’s mayor once again. He was followed by challengers Connor Fesenmaier and Pasquale Zampieri. All six of the city’s incumbent councillors were also voted back in, according to early results.

It is a three-way race in Coquitlam to replace retiring mayor Richard Stewart, a stalwart who has served in the role for nearly two decades.

And it is expected to be a heated battle in Port Moody, where the city’s first female mayor, Meghan Lahti, is being challenged by one-term city councillor Haven Lurbiecki.

As of 9 p.m., Lurbiecki was in a slight lead over Lahti.

Dozens of supporters of Port Moody Voice, the city’s first registered party headed by Lurbiecki, packed a corner of the busy Train Wreck brewery to watch the results come in and nibble charcuterie. The crowd erupted in cheers and applause when Lurbiecki arrived with some of her candidates.

She told Postmedia that win or lose she was so proud of the hard work her team had put in this campaign.

“We ran a grassroots fully-funded team without taking any developer money, powered by people in this community who want change and I am so excited about that,” she said.

-Tiffany Crawford

9:22 p.m.: West Van opts for change at the top, North Vancouver incumbent candidates lead

On the North Shore, West Vancouver appears to have opted for change in the 2026 election, with community newcomer but veteran news executive Kirk LaPointe taking a commanding lead in the polls over incumbent Mark Sager.

La Pointe, in the count as of 9 p.m., held a 1,416 vote lead over Sager, with challenger Sharon Thompson, a former district councillor, a more distant third among the five candidates vying for the job.

In North Vancouver District, incumbent Mike Little holds the lead for mayor with 50 per cent of the vote over main challenger Stephan Nieweller who held 31 per cent of the vote.

City of North Vancouver incumbent mayoral candidate Linda Buchanan also holds a lead capturing 46 per cent of the ballot over key contender Mike McGraw at 40 per cent. Neither of the other two contenders hold more than 15 per cent of the votes.

The West Vancouver race for mayor appears to have tapped into a community desire for change.

-Derrick Penner

9:16 p.m.: City hall eviction a real possibility for Vancouver’s Ken Sim

As the early results started to trickle Saturday night in for the Vancouver municipal election, Green Coun. Pete Fry was leading incumbent Mayor Ken Sim of ABC Vancouver.

With 16 out of 149 voting places reporting, Fry had 12,732 votes, more than double Sim’s 6,177 votes. Colleen Hardwick of TEAM for a Livable Vancouver was in third, followed by the Vancouver Liberals’ Kareem Allam, and Vote Vancouver’s Rebecca Bligh.

-Dan Fumano

9:13 p.m.: Incumbent Mayor Brenda Locke loses early lead to former mayor Doug McCallum

Brenda Locke has lost her early lead to former mayor Doug McCallum, with 70 out of 164 polls reported so far.

Locke, the incumbent, has dropped to 22.6 per cent of the vote, with McCallum leading with 30.9 per cent.

Other candidates have not been able to close the gap so far, with Linda Annis at 12.9 per cent and Mike Starchuk close behind at 12.8 per cent.

Locke’s watch party continues to grow with more than 100 filling a banquet hall in Surrey. While she and her candidates haven’t made an appearance, other political supporters have joined the crowd.

-Sobia Moman

9:09 p.m.: Incumbent fights with heir apparent while third candidate pulls ahead in mayoral race

The race for Delta mayor was one of the big question marks Saturday night.

Would two-term mayor George Harvie prevail, or would his former colleague Dylan Kruger upset him?

There was another possibly — that they’d split their vote, allowing a third candidate, Melissa Granum, to claim a victory.

There was quite a buzz at the Kruger party, which was quite posh and held in the ballroom of the Cascades Casino in Delta. It filled up just after 8 p.m.

But the first result coming in was a shocker — Granum had leapt to an early lead, with 1,414 votes (56 per cent) as opposed to 630 (25 per cent) for Kruger and 460 for Harvie.

The second result was closer — Granum led with 3,861 (47 per cent) to 2,592 for Kruger (31 per cent). Harvie looked in trouble, a distant third with 1,752 (21 per cent).

The Delta website said the early results were from the advance and mail in votes. But Granum continued to lead as more results came in, with 50 per cent at 9 p.m.

-John Mackie

9:01 p.m.: Incumbent Mike Hurley takes early lead in Burnaby mayoral race

Just before polls closed at 8 p.m., Mike Hurley supporters had gathered in a room at the Grand Villa Casino Hotel, where campaign signs lined the space as they prepared to watch the results come in. Several wore “I’m with Mike” T-shirts, with Burnaby firefighters and members of Local 323 among those backing the incumbent mayor.

Just before 9 p.m., preliminary results showed Hurley leading the Burnaby mayoral race with 66.87 per cent of the votes, ahead of five challengers. Hurley’s strongest opposition, Burnaby First candidate Heymann Yip, was at second with 12.31 per cent of votes. Bill Petrovas and Hanzhi Wang had each received 117 votes, or 6.46 per cent.

MichaelAngelo ABCRobinhood received 4.31 per cent of votes, while Sabina Hsu received 3.59 per cent.

Yip heads up Burnaby First, which also has three council candidates on the ballot.

-Sarah Grochowski

8:57 p.m.: Possible upset brewing in New Westminster as incumbent Mayor Patrick Johnstone trails

Daniel Fontaine, who is looking to unseat Mayor Patrick Johnstone, took an early lead in first results on election night, most of which came from advance polls.

Fontaine was leading with 7,556 votes over Johnstone’s 5,631, with 13 of 23 polls reporting.

And Fontaine’s party — the New Westminster Progressives — was leading in the race for council seats, with candidates from that party occupying all six spots, ahead of candidates from the only other party, Johnstone’s Community First.

And the Progressives were also leading for the school board, holding all but one of the seven seats.

-Susan Lazaruk

8:50 p.m.: Results in Vancouver slow to report while incumbent Mayor Brenda Locke shows slight early lead in Surrey

Nearly an hour after polls closed, voters in Vancouver continued to wait for results.

Meanwhile in Surrey, incumbent Mayor Brenda Locke appeared to enjoy a slight early lead.

Brenda Locke is taking a slight early lead, with 24.5 per cent of the vote, with only 18 of the 164 ballots reported so far. Not far behind is former mayor Doug McCallum, with 21.78 per cent of the vote.

Linda Annis of Surrey First has 15.8 per cent, while Mike Starchuk is close behind with 15.65 per cent of the vote and newcomer Troy Van Vliet right behind with 15.62 per cent.

-Sobia Moman

8:30 p.m.: Langley Township mayoral race could be close

The race for mayor of Langley Township looks like it will be close. As the first votes come in, Jay Lundgren is ahead by a hair in Langley Township, with 50.2 per cent of the vote compared to 49.8 per cent for incumbent Eric Woodward, with eight of 28 polls reporting.

Just minutes later, cheers erupt as Lundgren pulls ahead with 54 per cent of the vote with 19 out of 28 polls reporting.

Just before 9:30 p.m., Lundgren, a political newcomer, celebrated an early win with 26 of 28 polls reporting.

The incoming mayors and councils in both Langley Township and City must oversee an anticipated regional boom when the Surrey Langley SkyTrain extension is complete. In both cities, an incumbent mayor, who led a sometimes fractious council, faces a challenge from a new candidate hoping to tap into the financial concerns of voters.

-Glenda Luymes

8:10 p.m.: Ken Sim says no bad blood with other mayoral candidates

While waiting for results to roll in, incumbent Mayor Ken Sim spoke to Global B.C. from his election night headquarters, saying he and the other mayoral candidates “actually really like each other.”

“It’s funny, I actually gave Kareem (Allam) a hug the other day. Same thing with Rebecca (Bligh), we actually shared a stage at the … opening at Oakridge, and you know, Pete, behind the scenes, we talked,” he said.

“In fact, you know, when you look at our voting record, we — with the exception of Kareem, because he’s not in that chamber — we agree on about 90 per cent of the stuff anyway.”

Sim said he felt some of the friction was “overblown” and that he wished his opponents well.

“I hope whoever becomes the mayor and whoever gets elected, they do a great job for the city of Vancouver.”

8 p.m.: Polls are officially closed across Metro Vancouver

With polls closed, results will start to trickle in shortly. To see who’s been elected mayor in your municipality, check the map below, compiled by reporter Nathan Griffiths.

Three mayors in the Metro Vancouver area have been acclaimed. Those include Jamie Ross in Belcarra, Doug Richardson in Anmore, and Andrew Leonard in Bowen Island.

7:50 p.m.: Richmond voters to pick new mayor for first time in 25 years

Richmond voters were still trickling into polling stations just minutes before they closed on Saturday night, after a record 17,464 people voted in the five advance voting days Oct. 3, 7, 8, 9 and 10. Whoever wins tonight will be Richmond residents’ first new mayor in 25 years as outgoing mayor Malcolm Brodie resigns.

-Denise Ryan

7:16 p.m.: Brenda Locke’s campaign rolls into Surrey

Our photographer Jason Payne spotted a truck rolling into Surrey, bearing campaign advertising for incumbent Mayor Brenda Locke and her Surrey Connect team. We’ll have to wait until the results are in before we know if Locke is in it for the long haul. Ba-dum-shh.

7:03 p.m.: Postmedia reporters are ready

Our reporters are stationed and ready. Here’s where we’ll be this evening:

• Sobia Moman will be in Surrey at incumbent Mayor Brenda Locke’s headquarters

• Glenda Luymes will be in Langley to cover both the city and township races

• Derrick Penner will be in West Vancouver to start the evening for the North Shore races

• Dan Fumano will cover the battle in Vancouver between incumbent Mayor Ken Sim and challenger Pete Fry

• Tiffany Crawford is stationed out in the Tri-Cities, covering Port Moody, Coquitlam and Port Coquitlam

• Sarah Grochowski will report from Burnaby where fast-growing development will be a key council priority

• Denise Ryan is out in Richmond where outgoing Mayor Malcolm Brodie is stepping down after 25 years

• John Mackie is in Delta where a spat between an incumbent mayor and his former heir apparent shakes things up

• Susan Lazaruk will be in New Westminster where voters can choose from one of two party slates

5:32 p.m.: Kindness, art and pools top Vancouver’s 2026 Kids Vote ballot

While the adults figure out who’s going to run city hall next, Vancouver’s younger generation have cast their ballots for kindness.

Kids who visited one of 20 Vancouver Public Library branches between Oct. 3 to 17 were invited to participate in an early democracy activity by voting on four major issues, including what they like to do for fun, what qualities they want a leader to have, and what activity they wish they could do more of.

Some 36 per cent of early voters said they liked to visit swimming pools for fun in Vancouver, instead of beaches or playgrounds, libraries or community centres. When asked about the qualities a leader should have, 38 per cent noted kindness as the top quality, followed by 31 per cent who said fun was the most important. (Swag was not listed as a voting option.)

Meanwhile, 35 per cent said art, reading, music and movies were the most popular activities they wish they could spend more time doing, beating out other ballot options such as playing with friends, sports, swimming, or STEM activities.

Finally, 40 per cent said firefighters, ambulance and police officers were the most important aspect of Vancouver. Gardens, parks and nature came in a close second with 28 per cent, while libraries, theatres and fun events took 16 per cent of the votes.

Preliminary results show 1,047 kids cast a ballot this year, up 121 per cent from 2022. A total of 223 ballots were spoiled, “a sign that some young voters had more to say than the ballot allowed.”

-Stephanie Ip

4 p.m.: Endorsement controversy in Coquitlam 

Richard Stewart is retiring from the mayorship after nearly two decades at the helm of Coquitlam, and the race to replace him is a heated one.

He’d originally endorsed Craig Hodge, a city councillor since 2011, but since switched his support to two-time councillor Trish Mandewo. Stewart had asked Hodge to remove a video of him endorsing him, but as of Saturday, it was still up, leading Stewart to post on Facebook, calling it “misleading.”

Postmedia reporter Tiffany Crawford breaks it all down here.

1 p.m.: Political Polymarket bets

Apropos of nothing, and not to encourage gambling, but political observers can bet on the outcome of B.C. Elections on the platform Polymarket. The U.S.-funded, Panama-based crypto-based prediction market exists in a murky ethical and legal area, as it includes wars, deaths and sports among its bets.

Playnow.com, B.C.’s legal betting website, doesn’t offer the option.

Polymarket predicts Pete Fry will likely be the new mayor in Vancouver, and Brenda Locke is a shoo-in for Surrey. Will the numbers be borne out in reality? It remains to be seen.