This record covers Frances Bula's OneCity candidate page and the party's releases that quote or name her, the City's candidate list, her own September 2026 opinion piece on the Villages Plan, interviews with The Tyee, CBC and other outlets, her Bluesky account, the Women Transforming Cities and Vote Palestine pledge results, and the reporting on her candidacy.
The score counts how complete and checkable the published plan on this issue is. Whether the plan would work is a separate question, left to the reader. Measured October 3, 2026. The same seven points apply to every candidate for this office.
Housing supply and rental rules4/10
2/2
A position in the candidate’s own words
“Now she's running to bring that clear-eyed pragmatism to topics like housing and good governance at the council table.”
“Create new area plans where you take somewhere like Dunbar Street or Victoria Street, focusing on the high street for those new clusters of low-rise and modest towers.”
The questionnaire has not been sent yet. No candidate has this point.
OneCity’s platform on housing: 2 commitments, at least one with a number. Party text earns the candidate the position point only.
What this office controls. Council sets zoning, approves rezonings and development permits, and makes rental and tenant-protection bylaws under the Vancouver Charter. The province sets rent increase limits and tenancy law.
The questionnaire has not been sent yet. No candidate has this point.
OneCity’s platform on homelessness and drugs: 4 commitments, none with a number. Party text earns the candidate the position point only.
What this office controls. Council funds shelter sites, street cleaning and city outreach, and decides where supportive housing is approved. Health services, treatment beds and drug policy are provincial and federal.
The questionnaire has not been sent yet. No candidate has this point.
OneCity’s platform on public safety: 9 commitments, none with a number. Party text earns the candidate the position point only.
What this office controls. Council approves the police budget. The Vancouver Police Board, not Council, directs the police department. Fire and rescue services report to the city.
“I'm forever out shopping and supporting small independent businesses, supporting the arts, and making sure that people have whatever mode of transportation that they can use to get around the city and feel that it's easy.”
The questionnaire has not been sent yet. No candidate has this point.
OneCity’s platform on transport: 2 commitments, at least one with a number. Party text earns the candidate the position point only.
What this office controls. The city owns and designs its streets, bike lanes, sidewalks and parking rules. Buses, SkyTrain and SeaBus are run by TransLink, a regional body the city does not control.
The questionnaire has not been sent yet. No candidate has this point.
OneCity’s platform on taxes and budget: 4 commitments, none with a number. Party text earns the candidate the position point only.
What this office controls. Council sets the property tax rate each year, approves the operating budget, and approves the multi-year capital plan that pays for buildings and infrastructure.
The questionnaire has not been sent yet. No candidate has this point.
What this office controls. Vancouver has its own building bylaw under the Vancouver Charter, so Council can set energy and emissions rules for new buildings that other BC cities cannot.
“I'm forever out shopping and supporting small independent businesses, supporting the arts, and making sure that people have whatever mode of transportation that they can use to get around the city and feel that it's easy.”
The questionnaire has not been sent yet. No candidate has this point.
What this office controls. The city licenses venues and events, sets noise and business rules, and funds cultural grants and spaces. Liquor licensing is shared with the province.
The questionnaire has not been sent yet. No candidate has this point.
OneCity’s platform on child care: 1 commitment, none with a number. Party text earns the candidate the position point only.
What this office controls. The city creates child care spaces through zoning, city-owned buildings and development contributions. Licensing, subsidies and operating funding are provincial.
“I'm forever out shopping and supporting small independent businesses, supporting the arts, and making sure that people have whatever mode of transportation that they can use to get around the city and feel that it's easy.”
The questionnaire has not been sent yet. No candidate has this point.
What this office controls. Council issues business licences, sets licence and permit fees, zones commercial and industrial land and approves business improvement areas under the Vancouver Charter. Employment law, sales taxes and income taxes are provincial and federal.
The questionnaire has not been sent yet. No candidate has this point.
What this office controls. Council, the Park Board and the Board of Education each set their own meeting rules, committees, public consultation and reporting. The Vancouver Charter and the School Act create the three bodies and set their powers, and only the Province can change those acts.
On dates without a confirmed appearance the public schedule is unknown; the candidate may still have activities that day. This static page changes only when its research is updated.
01 / Introduction
About Frances Bula
Frances Bula appears on the City of Vancouver's final 2026 candidate list for City Council, with ballot number 146. The City records the affiliation as OneCity.
The Globe and Mail author page describes Bula as a freelance urban affairs contributor who has written about urban issues and city politics in the Vancouver region since 1994, covering subjects from Downtown Eastside drug addiction to large development projects.
The Globe and Mail author page lists articles by Bula through January 2026 on topics including homelessness in small Canadian towns, smaller residential projects by developers, and provincial decisions on Indigenous heritage conservation.
The Georgia Straight reported on May 11, 2026 that OneCity members chose five council candidates and that Bula, described as a longtime civic journalist, was among those selected, alongside Iona Bonamis, Caitlin Stockwell, Jarrett Hagglund, and sitting councillor Lucy Maloney.
The campaign page says Bula spent decades covering City Hall and is running to bring that experience to housing and governance decisions at the council table.
OneCity's team page describes Bula as the veteran City Hall reporter on a five person council slate that the party says also includes a transit planner, a co-op housing leader, and two lawyers.
The campaign page says the campaign is funded by individual donors rather than corporations.
The Tyee reported on May 12, 2026 that Bula started in journalism at the Creston Valley Advance in October 1983, reported in Comox and Kamloops, and joined the Vancouver Sun in 1987. The report says she covered city politics, including housing and homelessness, from 1994 until she left the Sun in 2008, and later wrote on the same subjects as a freelancer for The Globe and Mail and as a columnist for Vancouver Magazine.
A faculty profile from the University of British Columbia's School of Journalism, Writing, and Media, dated September 13, 2018, lists Bula as an adjunct professor. The profile says she has taught journalism since 1995, chaired the journalism department at Langara College, and held an Atkinson Foundation fellowship that paid for a year of study on homelessness and affordable housing. Bula told The Tyee she received the fellowship in 1998; the UBC profile dates it to 1999.
Her nomination campaign website, francesbulaforcouncil.ca, returned a not-found page on October 3, 2026. An Internet Archive copy from April 11, 2026 shows that the campaign published supporting statements from Peter Ladner, whom it describes as a former NPA councillor and journalist; Krista Thompson, described as a homeless-youth advocate; Ginger Gosnell-Myers, described as an Indigenous urban planner; and Patti Bacchus, described as a public education advocate. These are the campaign's own selections.
The Vancouver and District Labour Council's endorsement list, dated June 25, 2026, names Bula among the ten City Council candidates it endorses.
voche.me assembled this profile from the official candidate list and the campaign material linked under Sources. The campaign has not been contacted, and no candidate-supplied content appears on this page.
Published positions and selected commitments, separated by election cycle. Status labels describe the evidence reviewed, not a numerical score or a complete audit of the platform. Council approval is different from delivery.
31 commitments shown · Checked Oct 3
2026 · HousingCampaign pledge
Housing and governance at council
The campaign page says Bula spent decades covering City Hall as a civic journalist and is now running to bring that clear-eyed pragmatism to topics like housing and good governance at the council table.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
The campaign page states this in general terms. It sets out no housing target, no rezoning position and no specific governance change.
What still needs checking
Which housing decision Bula would vote differently on, and which governance rule would change.
The campaign page says Bula is running to bring that clear-eyed pragmatism to good governance at the council table, after decades of reporting on City Hall.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
The campaign page states this in general terms. It names no meeting rule, transparency measure, reporting change, number or date.
What still needs checking
What specific governance change Bula would bring to Council, and by when.
Party platform: 4,000 affordable homes on city land
OneCity's platform commits to building 4,000 affordable homes on land the city already owns, strengthening protections for low-income seniors and renters, and creating child care spaces across the city. A September 24, 2026 release adds detail: a city-run "People's Builder" would build the 4,000 homes using loan guarantees, federal funding and city capital, with money a project returns going into the next project.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
This is the party's published platform. Neither the home page nor the September 24 release quotes Bula on it, so it records OneCity's commitment, not hers.
What still needs checking
Which city owned sites are counted, over what period, and at what rents.
Party platform: traffic signals and transit priority
OneCity's platform commits to city wide transit signal priority and modernised traffic signals, which the party says would cut travel times by almost 20 per cent.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
This is the party's published platform and the figure is the party's own. The site gives no source for the 20 per cent estimate and does not quote Bula.
What still needs checking
Where the travel time figure comes from and which routes it applies to.
OneCity's platform commits to supporting home based businesses, opening an entrepreneur liaison office, offering micro grants to small businesses, and changing public contracting rules.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
This is the party's published platform, with no budget figure attached and no quote from Bula.
What still needs checking
The cost of the micro grant program and who would qualify.
In a September 25, 2026 opinion piece for Daily Hive, written four days after Council killed the Villages Plan, Bula said a new Council should put its main energy into building more housing around Vancouver's existing neighbourhood high streets, through new area plans for streets such as Dunbar Street and Victoria Street, focused on clusters of low-rise buildings and modest towers.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
The piece is signed by Bula and describes her personal vision for what should follow the Villages Plan. It names streets and a planning tool, new area plans, but gives no number of homes, no cost and no date for adopting them.
What still needs checking
Which streets Bula would prioritize for new area plans first, and by when.
In a March 2026 interview, Bula said she has been saying publicly that the Broadway Plan needs some fixes, and that new housing planning needs more sensitivity to neighbourhoods without reviving Vancouver's pattern of blocking projects over a handful of complaints.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
The interview gives her general view. It names no specific bylaw change, number, cost or date for fixing the plan.
What still needs checking
Which specific changes to the Broadway Plan Bula would bring to Council, and when.
In the same interview, Bula said the Broadway Plan displaces tenants because its relocation protections only cover the person named on an official lease, so a household with several unnamed tenants can lose everyone but the leaseholder.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
She describes the gap from her own street, where a tower replaced communal houses. She names no specific fix, cost or date, saying only that "there are things to look at."
What still needs checking
What change to the Tenant Relocation and Protection Policy Bula would propose, and by when.
Asked what she would revisit from the current Council's term, Bula said the no-net-new supportive housing limit was not the best signal to send, and that she expects OneCity to reverse it.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
This is her answer about what she would look at again, not a personal pledge with her own mechanism, number, cost or date attached; she frames the reversal as something she expects the party, not necessarily her alone, to do.
What still needs checking
Whether Bula personally moves to reverse the supportive housing limit, and on what terms.
In the same interview, Bula said she is always out shopping and supporting small independent businesses, supporting the arts, and making sure people have a mode of transportation that makes getting around the city easy.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
This is a general statement of what she values, from what she calls her "mini-platform." It names no licence fee, grant, budget line, number or date.
What still needs checking
Which specific measure for small businesses Bula would bring to Council, and what it would cost.
In the same interview, Bula listed supporting the arts alongside small independent businesses and easy transportation choices as things she is out doing in the city.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
This is a general statement of what she values. It names no grant, venue rule, number or date.
What still needs checking
Which specific arts measure Bula would bring to Council, and what it would cost.
In the same interview, Bula said she wants to make sure people have whatever mode of transportation they can use to get around the city and feel that it's easy.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
This states a general goal. It names no route, mode, budget line, number or date.
What still needs checking
Which specific transportation measure Bula would bring to Council, and what it would cost.
In the same interview, Bula said she thinks people would like to see more steadiness in the City budget, after three years of large swings in the property tax increase under ABC.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
This states a preference for steadier budgeting. It names no specific tax rate, spending target or date.
What still needs checking
What specific budgeting rule or target Bula would propose to smooth out the tax increase.
A more tailored approach to social-housing rezoning
In a March 2026 profile, Bula said the City needs a more thoughtful and tailored approach to rezoning for social housing, so that social housing is welcomed as the benefit it is, rather than a blanket approach that pushes big buildings into every area.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
She was responding to a 2025 proposal to pre-zone much of the city for social housing towers up to 20 storeys, which OneCity mayoral candidate William Azaroff and Councillor Lucy Maloney supported. She said she might have tried to amend that proposal if she had been on Council. She names no specific zoning rule, number, cost or date of her own.
What still needs checking
What tailored rezoning approach Bula would propose in place of a blanket pre-zoning plan.
In the same profile, Bula said the City should try new pilot projects to house homeless people, including possibly tiny home villages, instead of continually moving people along or waiting for federal or provincial funding.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
This names a type of project (pilot projects, possibly tiny home villages) but gives no number of spaces, cost or date.
What still needs checking
Which pilot project Bula would bring forward first, how many spaces it would create, and what it would cost.
In the same profile, Bula said that after covering six mayors, she has never seen such a dire need to restore accountability, transparency and respectful behaviour in the mayor's office and council chamber.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
This states her reason for running. It names no specific reporting rule, meeting policy, number or date.
What still needs checking
What specific transparency rule Bula would bring to Council, and how it would differ from current practice.
The same announcement said Bula supports expanding the variety of housing options available, including community land trusts, tiny-home villages, laneway homes, and mid-rise buildings with neighbourhood retail.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
This names several housing types and tools she supports. It gives no number of homes, no cost and no date for any of them.
What still needs checking
Which of these housing types Bula would prioritize first, and by when.
Women Transforming Cities' results table, published September 16, 2026, marks Bula as committing to its Our City Hall ask to expand access to non-market and climate-resilient housing options to reduce housing waitlist times.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
The results table is an image with no text version, which voche.me read by eye, so this entry earns no score. The wording of the ask belongs to the charity. Bula's own comment on the page says she particularly appreciates the group's position on housing, and names no amount, number or date.
What still needs checking
Which specific step on housing access this would bring to Council first, and by when.
Women Transforming Cities' results table, published September 16, 2026, marks Bula as committing to its Our City Hall ask to make it easier, safer and more accessible to move around the city.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
The results table is an image with no text version, which voche.me read by eye, so this entry earns no score. The wording of the ask belongs to the charity. Bula's own comment on the page says she particularly appreciates the group's position on housing, and names no amount, number or date.
What still needs checking
Which specific step on transportation and mobility this would bring to Council first, and by when.
Our City Hall pledge: community spaces and library hours
Women Transforming Cities' results table, published September 16, 2026, marks Bula as committing to its Our City Hall ask to support free and low-cost community gathering spaces, including extending library hours.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
The results table is an image with no text version, which voche.me read by eye, so this entry earns no score. The wording of the ask belongs to the charity. Bula's own comment on the page says she particularly appreciates the group's position on housing, and names no amount, number or date.
What still needs checking
Which specific step on community spaces and library hours this would bring to Council first, and by when.
Women Transforming Cities' results table, published September 16, 2026, marks Bula as committing to its Our City Hall ask to improve access to affordable, culturally relevant, nutritious food.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
The results table is an image with no text version, which voche.me read by eye, so this entry earns no score. The wording of the ask belongs to the charity. Bula's own comment on the page says she particularly appreciates the group's position on housing, and names no amount, number or date.
What still needs checking
Which specific step on food security this would bring to Council first, and by when.
Women Transforming Cities' results table, published September 16, 2026, marks Bula as committing to its Our City Hall ask to expand access to free, clean, 24/7 public washrooms.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
The results table is an image with no text version, which voche.me read by eye, so this entry earns no score. The wording of the ask belongs to the charity. Bula's own comment on the page says she particularly appreciates the group's position on housing, and names no amount, number or date.
What still needs checking
Which specific step on public washrooms this would bring to Council first, and by when.
Women Transforming Cities' results table, published September 16, 2026, marks Bula as committing to its Our City Hall ask to advance gender-based safety in public spaces.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
The results table is an image with no text version, which voche.me read by eye, so this entry earns no score. The wording of the ask belongs to the charity. Bula's own comment on the page says she particularly appreciates the group's position on housing, and names no amount, number or date.
What still needs checking
Which specific step on gender safety this would bring to Council first, and by when.
OneCity's budget plan of September 29, 2026 quotes Bula saying that nobody should need a journalist to explain where their tax dollars go and that a budget people cannot read is useless. The plan says OneCity would publish the City budget in plain language, line by line.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
Bula's quoted words are about making the budget readable, which is the plan item named here. The release names the change but gives no cost, no date and no budget year for it.
What still needs checking
From which budget year the plain-language budget would start, and what it would cost to produce.
Party platform: participatory budgeting, property tax and a ranked ballot
The same OneCity plan says the party would let residents decide on part of City spending across the whole city, look at a property tax that charges the wealthiest owners more, restore the City's living wage certification, add water meters, and support a ranked ballot for mayor and a citizens' assembly on voting reform before the 2030 election.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
This is party text. Bula's quoted words in the release are about the readable budget only, so these items are recorded as OneCity's position. The release gives no dollar amount for the participatory budget and no tax rate. A change to how Vancouver elects its mayor needs the Province to change the Vancouver Charter.
What still needs checking
Whether Bula has said she would move any of these items at Council, and when.
Community land trusts to take homes out of the speculative market
In a May 2026 interview with The Tyee, Bula said she wants to find ways to remove a share of housing from the speculative market, and that this is why she is keen on community land trusts, which Vancouver is just starting to use.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
This is her stated view in an edited interview. She gives no share of homes, no number of trusts, no cost and no date.
What still needs checking
What share of homes Bula would place in community land trusts, on which City land, and by when.
Speaking to reporters on September 8, 2026, after William Azaroff ended his mayoral campaign, Bula said OneCity would keep showing up with real plans on the issues that matter most to people. The Tyee reports that she named climate action among those issues.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
The Tyee's report lists the issues she named in its own words. She named climate action as an issue and gave no measure, number, cost or date.
What still needs checking
Which climate measure Bula would bring to Council first, and what it would cost.
Party platform: tree canopy, rooftop solar and building energy
OneCity's climate platform page says the party would raise the City's tree canopy target to 40 per cent, put solar panels on schools, libraries and community centres, install cooling and heat pumps in the homes of the residents most at risk in extreme heat, and restore the ban on gas in new buildings.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
This is party text with no candidate named, so it records OneCity's commitment. The page gives no cost and no date for any item.
What still needs checking
Whether Bula has said which of these climate items she would move at Council first.
A OneCity statement of September 27, 2026, signed by 11 OneCity candidates including Bula, answers the four parts of the Vote Palestine pledge. On City purchasing, the signers say they will work with City staff so that contracts go to local businesses or Canadian companies, and that City money will not go, as far as possible, to states complicit in genocide. Vote Palestine Vancouver's list records her as committed to two of its four points: condemning the genocide in Gaza, and cutting ties with Israeli institutions, including reviewing contracts.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
The statement is signed by name by 11 candidates as a team, so the wording is shared and earns no point for a measure. It names no purchasing rule, dollar amount or date.
What still needs checking
Which purchasing rule Bula would bring to Council, and from which budget year.
Each entry below names its source. Campaign material is the candidate's own account. Nothing here is presented as a verified outcome unless the entry says so.
No reviewed entries have been added to this section yet. This is a research gap, not a finding about the candidate.
Recent appearances / Read and watch
Talks, interviews & statements
Read original statements and reporting, or open the publisher’s video. A summary of a speech is labelled separately from a full recording.
Interview
Q&A on covering urban issues and running for council
Bula discussed her reasons for entering politics, the Broadway Plan, the 2025 proposal to pre-zone large areas for supportive housing towers, small business support, and City budgeting, in an interview with journalist Howard Chai.
Profile on crossing the line from journalism to politics
Bula told Dan Fumano she wants a more thoughtful and tailored approach to social-housing rezoning, that the City should try pilot projects such as tiny home villages for homeless people, and that after covering six mayors she sees a dire need to restore accountability and transparency at City Hall.
CBC's episode page says host Stephen Quinn spoke with Bula about why she is moving from journalism into politics, and that reporter Justin McElroy discussed what her run could mean for the election. voche.me read the episode page and did not transcribe the audio.
Interview with The Tyee on OneCity, housing and land trusts
Bula told The Tyee's Katie Hyslop that she approached OneCity herself, that she sees the party as progressive and pragmatic on housing, that the Broadway Plan needs adjusting, and that she is keen on community land trusts. She said new housing built to current codes cannot be rented for 500 dollars a month without heavy subsidies.
Remarks to reporters after William Azaroff ended his mayoral campaign
The Tyee reports that Bula spoke to reporters outside City Hall after OneCity's mayoral candidate ended his campaign. She said OneCity would keep bringing plans on issues including affordability, climate action, the local economy, public safety, child care and municipal services, and that its 13 candidates would work as a team.
The charity's results table marks Bula as committing to all six of its Our City Hall asks: housing access, transit and mobility, community spaces, food security, public washrooms and gender safety. The table is an image, which voche.me read by eye. Her comment on the page says she particularly appreciates the group's position on housing.
Signed OneCity's statement on the Vote Palestine pledge
Bula is one of 11 OneCity candidates who signed a team statement answering the four parts of the Vote Palestine pledge. The signers condemn the genocide in Gaza and racism in all forms, decline to sign the Apartheid-Free Communities pledge or adopt the Arab Canadian Lawyers Association framework, and commit to City purchasing rules that favour local and Canadian companies.
OneCity's release on its budget and voting plan quotes Bula saying she spent decades reading City budgets so the public did not have to, and that a budget people cannot read is useless.
Last Candidate Standing debate at the York Theatre
OneCity's Bluesky account says Bula won Last Candidate Standing, a game show style all-candidates debate that the Vancouver Public Space Network held at the York Theatre on October 1, and that Lucy Maloney came second. The result comes from the party's own post; voche.me found no organizer or news report of the result.
Records are labelled by type, including official findings, civil proceedings and political disputes where applicable. Each entry identifies the response found in the sources and the latest status verified for this page.
No reviewed entries have been added to this section yet. This is a research gap, not a finding about the candidate.
News coverage / Original publishers
Read the reporting
A dated reading list from independent publishers. The headings below are voche.me summaries; follow each link for the original article, context and any corrections.
Reporting
The Georgia Straight
OneCity Vancouver announces council, school board, and park board candidates
Nathan Caddell reports the results of OneCity's nomination race, names Bula among the five council candidates, and notes that several well known contenders did not make the slate.
Four OneCity party hopefuls form 'Builders' slate for Vancouver City Council race
Kenneth Chan reported that Bula, Iona Bonamis, Jarrett Hagglund and Mike Tan would run together as the OneCity Builders, and quotes Bula on the value of an aligned team.
5 thoughts on veteran Vancouver journalist Frances Bula running for council with OneCity
Editor Nathan Caddell, who has known Bula professionally for years, gives his own reaction to her run, including that some of her views on the Broadway Plan may not align perfectly with OneCity's pro-development stance.
#VanPoli | Frances Bula | A Must-Elect Candidate for Vancouver City Council
A detailed biography and an endorsement of Bula's candidacy, describing her journalism career since 1994 and listing housing, transparency and effective governance as likely priorities.
OneCity, COPE choose candidates for 2026 civic election
Mike Howell reports the results of OneCity's and COPE's nomination meetings and names Bula, described as a veteran civic affairs journalist, among OneCity's five council candidates.
A personal voter guide that Allen Pike published on his own website names Bula, described as a well-known civic journalist, as one of OneCity's two most prominent council candidates. It quotes no words from her.
Sources checked October 3, 2026. Official records establish decisions; campaign material establishes stated positions; reporting adds investigation and context. None alone establishes every claim.
Her nomination papers, which the City lists as a PDF, returned HTTP 403 to automated reads and have no Internet Archive copy, so they were not read. HUB Cycling's published Vancouver answers held no row for her on October 3, 2026, while the other four OneCity council candidates had answered. Her Instagram account (listed by the City as Fabulayvr), X and LinkedIn could not be read as text. Her Bluesky account had no post of her own after September 20, 2026. Her campaign website, francesbulaforcouncil.ca, returned a not-found page and was read through an April 2026 Internet Archive copy. The CBC This is Vancouver episode was not transcribed; only its page was read. The Last Candidate Standing result comes from OneCity's own post, and no report of what she said at that debate was found. The CTV News copy of the March 2026 profile still returned no article text. No dated, sourced civic action (a vote, a motion, a program delivered or a report authored in a public role) was found for Bula: her record before 2026 is decades of journalism, which this site treats as background. No campaign finance disclosure covering 2026 was found.
Research status
What voche.me has checked
Evidence reviewed on October 3, 2026: her OneCity candidate page and every OneCity release from September 2026, the City's councillor candidate list (read through a reader service because vancouver.ca refuses automated requests), her VoteMate profile, her Bluesky account, The Tyee's May and September 2026 reports, a UBC faculty profile, the Women Transforming Cities and Vote Palestine pledge results, HUB Cycling's survey answers and the public forum listings.
Commitments marked as her own words are each checked against a quotation from the page that carries it. OneCity platform items that do not quote her are labelled as the party's words.
Checks still to do: read her nomination papers, which the City lists as a PDF that refused automated reads, and check HUB Cycling's survey page again for her answers.
The ballot name, office, ballot number and party label come from the City's final candidate list. Everything described as campaign material is the campaign's own account and has not been confirmed by an independent source unless the entry says so.
03 / Background
Experience & community
1994 to 2026
Urban affairs journalist
The Globe and Mail author page says Bula has written about urban issues and city politics in British Columbia's Vancouver region since 1994, and lists Bula as a freelance contributor with work published through 2026.
1987 to 2008
Reporter, Vancouver Sun
The Tyee reported that Bula joined the Vancouver Sun in 1987 and covered city politics there, including housing and homelessness, from 1994 until she left in 2008.
Atkinson Foundation fellowship on homelessness and housing
Bula told The Tyee that the fellowship gave her a year to study homelessness and housing and led to a 15-part series she wrote for the Toronto Star. She dates it to 1998 in that interview, and the UBC faculty profile dates it to 1999.
Adjunct professor, UBC School of Journalism, Writing, and Media
The school's faculty profile, dated September 13, 2018, lists her as an adjunct professor teaching journalism practice and standards and integrated journalism. voche.me did not find whether she still holds the role.
Proposed questions for a future interview. They have not been sent to the candidate, and no answers have been supplied.
How would your proposed transparency rules differ from current City practices?
No response has been submitted.
Which of your proposals can council enact directly, and which require provincial, federal or regional agreement?
No response has been submitted.
Have your own question?
Ask Frances Bula directly. We send it to the campaign, and publish the reply here if we get one.
05 / About this page
Questions about this page
Facts voche.me can state about Frances Bula's page itself, answered directly rather than left blank.
Is this an official page for Frances Bula?
No. This page is researched by voche.me from public sources, listed below, and is separate from Frances Bula's own campaign.
What is Frances Bula's ballot number for the 2026 Vancouver election?
Frances Bula is number 146 on the City of Vancouver's official 2026 ballot for City Council.
What party did Frances Bula run with?
Frances Bula ran for City Council with OneCity.
Does Frances Bula currently hold public office?
Not according to this profile. voche.me has not listed a current public office for Frances Bula.
How many sources does this Frances Bula profile cite?
This profile lists 3 sourced references, each with the date voche.me checked it, in the Sources section below.
Has Frances Bula filed nomination papers for the 2026 election?
voche.me has not yet added a nomination record for Frances Bula. This does not mean no nomination paper was filed, only that voche.me has not completed that research yet.
Why do some questions on Frances Bula's page show no answer?
The "Questions & answers" section on this page lists questions voche.me would put to Frances Bula in a future interview. They have not been sent yet, so the page says plainly that no answer has been supplied instead of leaving the section blank.
When was the election Frances Bula ran in?
The 2026 Vancouver municipal election, including the City Council race, was decided on October 17, 2026.
06 / Candidate contributions
Space for campaign updates
OneCity link moved to the party's candidates page
OneCity's old candidate page for this candidate (onecityvancouver.ca/people/frances-bula) returned HTTP 404 on October 4, 2026. The party's candidates page, read that day, carries the same paragraph and the same portrait file, so the links, the portrait credit and the commitments that cited the old page now point to the candidates page. The old page stays in the source list, marked as no longer answering.
Record reviewed again, with new interviews, statements and corrections
Added: The Tyee's May 12 interview and its September 9 report on her remarks after William Azaroff left the mayoral race, which name climate action and child care among her issues; her quote in OneCity's September 29 budget plan; the September 27 OneCity statement on the Vote Palestine pledge she signed; OneCity's report that she won the October 1 Last Candidate Standing debate; the CBC This is Vancouver episode of March 10; Vancouver Is Awesome's May 14 nomination report; the labour council's June 25 endorsement list; a UBC faculty profile; the April 2026 archive copy of her nomination campaign site; the City's candidate list and the social media accounts it gives for her; OneCity's climate platform; and an online food-systems town hall on October 13. Corrections: the six Women Transforming Cities pledge entries were counted as her own scored words, but her yes to each ask appears only in an image, so they are now recorded as unscored; the biography repeated her ballot number and the party page's description of her reporting, and the repeats were removed.
voche.me reopened the campaign page and read Bula's own opinion piece on the Villages Plan, two 2026 interviews, her Bluesky account, the Women Transforming Cities pledge page, and the reporting on her candidacy. Every existing commitment was tagged with an issue and, where the words are Bula's own, checked against a quotation from the page that carries it. New commitments were added from her own writing and statements; OneCity's own policy releases are recorded as the party's words unless they quote her, which none of the three checked in this round do.
Duplicate housing-and-governance entry removed
The dossier listed the same campaign-page sentence twice: once under the topic "Housing" and once under "Housing and good governance." The site tags one issue per commitment, so the duplicate was removed. The sentence now appears as two commitments, one tagged housing and one tagged governance.
Party platform entries tagged as the party's words
The three existing party-platform entries (4,000 homes, traffic signals, local economy measures) are OneCity's published platform. None of the pages checked quotes Bula on them, so they are tagged own: false and no longer earn her a position point; they remain in the record for background.
