This record covers Iona Bonamis, candidate number 113 for Vancouver City Council with OneCity. It draws on the campaign site, OneCity releases that quote her, a 2022 run for the same office, published planning work, her answers to outside questionnaires, City minutes, and news reporting, including the court case about the name shown on the ballot.
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 rules5/10
2/2
A position in the candidate’s own words
“Let’s enable affordable housing close to low-cost childcare, shops, restaurants, medical clinics, parks, recreation facilities, and arts and cultural spaces across the city.”
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.
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.
“As an urban planner, community builder, and a mom, I am deeply passionate about providing affordable housing, safe and reliable transportation, arts and culture, and well-maintained parks and community centres.”
“our Library Card+ proposal, which will give families the opportunity to pre-load their library cards with discounted passes to a range of places across the city”
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.
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 Iona Bonamis (陶思穎)
Iona Bonamis (陶思穎) appears on the City of Vancouver's final 2026 candidate list for City Council, with ballot number 113. The City records the affiliation as OneCity.
The campaign says Bonamis has spent 20 years as an urban and transportation planner.
The OneCity candidate page says Bonamis has worked for two decades as an urban and transportation planner, with a focus on walking, cycling and public transit connections and on direct neighbourhood outreach.
An endorsement printed on the campaign site, from a professor at the University of British Columbia’s School of Community and Regional Planning, describes Bonamis as a Registered Professional Planner and a graduate of that school.
The Vancouver Sun reported on September 14, 2026 that Bonamis works as a TransLink planner and is a former City of Vancouver employee.
A Vancouver Sun column dated September 8, 2022 reported that Bonamis was then a senior transportation planner at Vancouver City Hall on a salary of $106,000 paid from general revenue, and began an unpaid leave on August 15, 2022.
Bonamis ran for council with OneCity in 2022 and finished 12th with 33,745 votes, behind Forward Together's Dulcy Anderson at 33,985 votes.
The campaign site says Bonamis is a small business owner, the founder and current co-chair of OneCity’s Chinese Cultural Working Group, a former co-chair of Women Transforming Cities and a former board director of the Trout Lake Community Centre Association.
Women Transforming Cities' own page about Bonamis lists her as a board director from 2022 to 2025, says she served on its board for four years, and says she was a co-chair throughout 2025.
A 2022 VoteMate profile completed for that election listed a Master of Science in Community and Regional Programming from UBC, the wording printed on that page, and said Bonamis was born in Vancouver, is Chinese-Canadian and speaks Cantonese.
The ballot lists Bonamis at number 113 with the Chinese characters 陶思穎 following the English name, after a provincial court ruling on September 18, 2026.
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.
40 commitments shown · Checked Oct 3
2026 · Public servicesCampaign pledge
Investment in South Vancouver
Bonamis says South Vancouver is long overdue for public investment, because public services and infrastructure there have fallen behind.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
Campaign video post of March 24, 2026. The post states that 110,000 residents in South Vancouver share one public swimming pool, which is the campaign’s own figure. It names no project, cost or date.
What still needs checking
Which facilities Bonamis would fund first, and from which budget.
Build infrastructure that makes walking, cycling and rolling safer, make transit faster and more reliable, and increase access to bike-share, scooter-share and car-share.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
Listed on the campaign home page under the heading Build a Safe and Connected City. The page gives no route, number, cost or date.
What still needs checking
Which streets and transit routes come first, what they cost and who pays.
Enable affordable housing close to low-cost childcare, shops, restaurants, medical clinics, parks, recreation facilities, and arts and cultural spaces across the city.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
Stated on the campaign home page under the heading Build a Liveable City. The page gives no number of homes, mix of ownership types, timeline or zoning change.
What still needs checking
What housing target Bonamis would support and on which sites.
Bonamis supports a motion by Councillors Lucy Maloney and Pete Fry to restore the City of Vancouver as a Living Wage Employer, and asks readers to send Council a comment or ask to speak.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
A campaign article dated January 19, 2026 says the City was a certified Living Wage Employer from 2017 and withdrew in 2023, when a majority of Council chose a five-year rolling average of the living wage as its baseline. The article asks readers to comment or ask to speak before the January 21, 2026 meeting of the Standing Committee on Policy and Strategic Priorities. It gives no cost. The City minutes of that meeting record that the motion, moved by Councillor Maloney and seconded by Councillor Fry, was lost, with Councillors Dominato, Kirby-Yung, Klassen, Meiszner, Montague, Zhou and Mayor Sim opposed. The committee heard 14 speakers in support, and the minutes do not name them. CTV News reported the same day that the motion was defeated. The minutes also say Living Wage BC first certified the City in August 2016 and the City withdrew in January 2023; the campaign article gives 2017 as the start.
What still needs checking
Whether Bonamis would bring the motion back at Council if elected, and what recertification would cost.
Add free 24-hour public washrooms, add sidewalk-level street lighting, fund and speed up permits for outdoor festivals, help long-standing businesses modernise, and build more coordination between Chinatown and Downtown Eastside organisations.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
Set out by Bonamis in a Vancouver Sun opinion article on July 26, 2022, during the previous council campaign. The article names washroom trailers used in Downtown South and the Downtown Eastside as the model and names Chinatown organisations that run festivals. No cost figures are given. Her 2026 campaign site lists the article among its Features and Appearances with the 2022 date and hosts a copy. The 2026 home page does not repeat the five actions, so voche.me counts it as material from an earlier campaign.
What still needs checking
Whether Bonamis is running on the same five actions in 2026.
Make room for under-represented residents in decisions
Make sure the lived experiences of under-represented groups, including women, youth, seniors, low-income households, people with disabilities, and Indigenous, racialized and LGBTQ2S+ communities, shape decision-making at City Hall.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
Stated on the campaign home page under the heading Build an Inclusive City. The page names no committee, budget line or reporting rule for it.
What still needs checking
What process change Bonamis would move at council to make this happen.
2026 · Better walking, biking and transitCampaign pledge
Better walking, biking and transit
The OneCity candidate page says Bonamis has spent 20 years as an urban and transportation planner, focused on connecting people to the places they need to go with better walking, biking and public transit infrastructure.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
The page describes her career focus and says she is running to bring that experience to the council table. It states no measure for Council, so voche.me records it as background.
What still needs checking
What would this cost, who would deliver it, and by when?
Expand speed and red-light cameras to high-risk areas of the city and redesign streets. The Traditional Chinese version of the page says 於高風險區域增設測速與闖紅燈攝像頭 (voche.me’s translation: add speed and red-light cameras in high-risk areas).
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
Stated on the campaign home page and in its Traditional Chinese version. The page gives no number of cameras, no locations, no cost and no date, and names no government that would approve or run the cameras.
What still needs checking
How many camera sites are proposed, where they would be, which government decides and who pays.
Bonamis says she is passionate about providing affordable housing, safe and reliable transportation, arts and culture, and well-maintained parks and community centres.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
Stated in the About text of the campaign home page. The sentence names housing and transportation, which have their own entries, and parks and community centres, which the Park Board manages. It names no arts measure, number, cost or date.
What still needs checking
Which arts and culture measures Bonamis would move at Council, and what they would cost.
Deeply affordable housing in the Downtown Eastside
Bonamis says the City needs more social housing and deeply affordable housing in the Downtown Eastside and across the City, so that existing residents can stay.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
Written on December 12, 2025 about proposed changes to the Downtown Eastside Oppenheimer District housing plan. The article gives no number of homes, cost or date. The City’s minutes list her among the speakers who spoke in opposition at the public hearing on those changes.
What still needs checking
How many social and deeply affordable homes Bonamis would ask for, on which sites, and by when.
Bonamis says she spoke in favour of a motion that would allow up to six floors and corner stores on quiet, walkable and bikeable streets across the City.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
Her site post, dated December 5 (2025), says she spoke on September 17, 2025 and calls the meeting a Finance and Services Standing Committee meeting. The City’s minutes for September 17, 2025 are those of the Standing Committee on Policy and Strategic Priorities. They record the motion Beyond Arterials: Creating More Housing Options on Low-Traffic Streets, which asked staff to explore zoning changes (rules on what can be built where) for apartment buildings of up to six floors and ground-floor commercial use. They record 12 speakers in support and no names, and record that the motion was referred to staff. voche.me could not confirm from the minutes that she was one of the speakers.
What still needs checking
Whether Bonamis would bring back a zoning change of this kind at Council, with a number of homes and a date.
In a statement issued through OneCity on September 12, 2026, Bonamis said she would prefer to spend the campaign talking to neighbours about how OneCity will work to deliver affordable housing and faster transit.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
The statement is about the City’s challenge to her ballot name. The sentence names affordable housing and gives no measure, number, cost or date.
What still needs checking
What affordable housing measures Bonamis would move at Council, and how many homes they would produce.
In a statement issued through OneCity on September 18, 2026, Bonamis listed rent people can afford among the topics she is talking about with neighbours.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
The statement is about the court ruling on her ballot name. It names rent as a topic and gives no measure, number, cost or date.
What still needs checking
Which rental measures Bonamis would move at Council, and by when.
In a statement issued through OneCity on September 18, 2026, Bonamis listed child care in every neighbourhood among the topics she is talking about with neighbours.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
The statement is about the court ruling on her ballot name. It names child care as a topic and gives no number of spaces, cost, tool or date.
What still needs checking
How many child care spaces Bonamis would aim for, what Council could do to add them, and by when.
In a statement issued through OneCity on September 12, 2026, Bonamis said she would prefer to spend the campaign talking to neighbours about how OneCity will work to deliver affordable housing and faster transit.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
The statement is about the City’s challenge to her ballot name. It names faster transit and gives no measure, number, cost or date.
What still needs checking
Which transit measures Bonamis would move at Council, and by when.
At the Main Street Car Free Day announcement of OneCity’s Connect Vancouver plan, Bonamis said Vancouver can have streets where children bike to school safely, seniors can walk to the grocery store without fear and people can reach the places they need to go without a car.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
Quoted in OneCity’s release of September 13, 2026. The release credits the six commitments of Connect Vancouver to OneCity. Her quote gives no number, cost or date.
What still needs checking
Which streets and routes come first, what they cost and by when.
Bonamis said Mobi, Vancouver’s bike share system, should be publicly owned to keep it stable over the long term. The release says OneCity would explore public ownership of Mobi.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
Quoted in OneCity’s release of September 13, 2026. Her quote names no owner, cost or date.
What still needs checking
Who would own Mobi, what the purchase or takeover would cost and which budget would pay.
Bonamis wrote on December 10, 2025 that she supports Councillor Lucy Maloney’s motion to restrict right turns on red to protect people who walk or bike, and hopes the change is reflected in the City’s Vision Zero Study.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
Bluesky post. It gives no wording of the motion, no date of the vote and no outcome, and voche.me has not opened the Council record of the motion.
What still needs checking
What the motion said, whether Council passed it, and what Bonamis would do about it at Council.
In OneCity’s public safety plan release, Bonamis said ReLight Vancouver means well-lit, safe bus stops in every neighbourhood, including outside downtown, and a public map so residents can check that OneCity delivers it.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
Quoted in OneCity’s release of September 25, 2026, which describes ReLight Vancouver as the party’s plan for well-lit streets, parks, pathways and bus stops. Her quote gives no number of stops, cost or date.
What still needs checking
How many stops and streets would be lit, what it costs, which budget pays and by when.
Bonamis says she spoke at City Council against the Zero Means Zero budget of Ken Sim and ABC, citing effects on city services and staff morale.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
The site post is a one-sentence summary and gives the date as November 16, 2025, which was a Sunday. The post gives no figures and no alternative budget. voche.me could not open the Council minutes for the budget meetings, so the speech and its date are unchecked.
What still needs checking
The date and Council record of the speech, and what budget Bonamis would propose instead.
Bonamis opposes a report that proposed cutting ten of the City’s eleven Council Advisory Committees, and asks readers to tell Council how they feel.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
Written on December 5, 2025 about a report for the December 9, 2025 Council meeting. The article says cutting the committees’ terms by a year is expected to save $161,100, or 0.007% of the City’s operating budget. Those figures are the article’s own. The article gives no plan of her own for advisory committees.
What still needs checking
What Council decided on that report, and what Bonamis would do about advisory committees if elected.
Bonamis wrote on September 3, 2026 that it should be easier for small artist venues to succeed, and that the decision on who gets a grant should be politically neutral.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
Bluesky post. It names no venue rule, grant program, amount or date.
What still needs checking
Which venue rules and which grants Bonamis would change, and what it would cost.
Bonamis wrote on August 29, 2026 that OneCity has announced a Library Card+ proposal that would let families pre-load library cards with discounted passes to a range of places across the city.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
Bluesky post. It gives no price, number of passes, list of places, budget or start date, and names no body that would run it.
What still needs checking
Which places take part, what the discount costs, who pays and when it would start.
Bonamis wrote on August 8, 2026 that OneCity’s Built to Last plan will make it easier for people to have energy efficient and safe homes and to use clean energy.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
Bluesky post, a reply in a thread about the 2021 heat dome, a long period of extreme heat. It names the plan and gives no measure, number, cost or date. Only her own sentence is counted here.
What still needs checking
Which parts of the plan Bonamis would move at Council, what they cost and by when.
Bonamis’s VoteMate reason for running, submitted by the candidate or the campaign, says she wants to help build a city where everyday people, including youth, seniors and the working class, are protected, taken care of and feel they belong.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
It is a general reason for running. It names no measure, number, cost or date, and no scored issue.
Women Transforming Cities asked candidates to commit to expand access to housing run by co-ops, non-profits and governments and built to handle extreme heat: more co-op, social and supportive housing in every neighbourhood by changing the zoning rules (rules on what can be built where) that delay these homes within the first year of the term, priority for these homes on public land, and retrofits that cool tenants’ homes in extreme heat. Bonamis’s statement of support on the organization’s page says she is excited to advance all six of its areas over the next four years.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
The wording of the ask belongs to Women Transforming Cities, from its Our City Hall Campaign Report. Her statement is one sentence about all six areas together and gives no measure, cost or date of her own for this one, so voche.me counts it as her position on the issue and gives no other point for it.
What still needs checking
Which parts of this ask Bonamis would move at Council, what they would cost and by when.
Public Transportation and Mobility ask (Our City Hall Pledge)
Women Transforming Cities asked candidates to commit to make it easier, safer and more accessible to move around the city: advocate to the province for a low-income transit pass, speed up buses with transit-priority measures such as dedicated bus lanes (the report sets a goal of at least nine transit corridors by 2030), add covered bus shelters, seating and lighting, and give people more time to cross the street. Bonamis’s statement of support on the organization’s page says she is excited to advance all six of its areas over the next four years.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
The wording of the ask belongs to Women Transforming Cities, from its Our City Hall Campaign Report. Her statement is one sentence about all six areas together and gives no measure, cost or date of her own for this one, so voche.me counts it as her position on the issue and gives no other point for it.
What still needs checking
Which parts of this ask Bonamis would move at Council, what they would cost and by when.
Women Transforming Cities asked candidates to commit to support free and low-cost gathering spaces: longer library hours with adequate staffing and a living wage, reporting on unused City-owned properties with priority access and subsidized rent for community groups, and work with independent arts and culture venues and queer spaces to reform permit and bylaw barriers. Bonamis’s statement of support on the organization’s page says she is excited to advance all six of its areas over the next four years.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
The wording of the ask belongs to Women Transforming Cities, from its Our City Hall Campaign Report. Her statement is one sentence about all six areas together and gives no measure, cost or date of her own for this one, so voche.me counts it as her position on the issue and gives no other point for it.
What still needs checking
Which parts of this ask Bonamis would move at Council, what they would cost and by when.
Women Transforming Cities asked candidates to commit to improve access to affordable, culturally relevant, nutritious food: a larger Sustainable Food Systems Grant and a new Indigenous Food Sovereignty Grant starting in the 2027 budget, City-owned real estate for a South Vancouver Community Food Hub, and at least four food planner roles at the City. Bonamis’s statement of support on the organization’s page says she is excited to advance all six of its areas over the next four years.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
The wording of the ask belongs to Women Transforming Cities, from its Our City Hall Campaign Report. Her statement is one sentence about all six areas together and gives no measure, cost or date of her own for this one, so voche.me counts it as her position on the issue and gives no other point for it.
What still needs checking
Which parts of this ask Bonamis would move at Council, what they would cost and by when.
Women Transforming Cities asked candidates to commit to increase the number of accessible, maintained washrooms that are open at all hours: prefabricated public toilets in high-need areas, more funding for City and Park Board washroom maintenance, and work with Downtown Eastside service providers and other governments to sustain hygiene facilities such as mobile washrooms, showers and laundry. Bonamis’s statement of support on the organization’s page says she is excited to advance all six of its areas over the next four years.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
The wording of the ask belongs to Women Transforming Cities, from its Our City Hall Campaign Report. Her statement is one sentence about all six areas together and gives no measure, cost or date of her own for this one, so voche.me counts it as her position on the issue and gives no other point for it.
What still needs checking
Which parts of this ask Bonamis would move at Council, what they would cost and by when.
Women Transforming Cities asked candidates to commit to put gender equity at the centre of safety planning: fund the City’s work on the MMIWG2S+ Calls for Justice and Red Women Rising recommendations, reinstate the second Sex Worker Safety Planner role and fund drop-in spaces for sex workers, and carry out survivor-led safety and violence prevention strategies. Bonamis’s statement of support on the organization’s page says she is excited to advance all six of its areas over the next four years.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
The wording of the ask belongs to Women Transforming Cities, from its Our City Hall Campaign Report. Her statement is one sentence about all six areas together and gives no measure, cost or date of her own for this one, so voche.me counts it as her position on the issue and gives no other point for it.
What still needs checking
Which parts of this ask Bonamis would move at Council, what they would cost and by when.
At the announcement of OneCity’s Revitalize Chinatown Plaza plan on September 26, 2026, Bonamis said the City should lead by example in filling empty shops in Chinatown, starting with Chinatown Plaza, a building the City owns. The release says the party’s plan would give the City’s Chinatown Advisory Committee a funded mandate with deadlines and targets, add cleaning, washrooms and accessibility work inside the Plaza, link its empty shops to Council’s storefront pilot, and publish a yearly report on occupancy.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
Quoted in OneCity’s release of September 26, 2026, which says OneCity and Bonamis announced the plan. The steps of the plan are written as the party’s. The release gives no dollar amount, no occupancy target and no date. It says 15 of the Plaza’s 22 ground-floor shops were unleased as of May 2025, which is the party’s figure.
What still needs checking
How much the plan would cost, which budget pays, how many shops it aims to fill and by when.
Bonamis signed a OneCity statement of September 27, 2026 that answers the four points of the Vote Palestine pledge. The statement says the candidates would work with City staff so that City contracts go to local businesses or Canadian companies and, as far as possible, City money does not go to states complicit in genocide. Vote Palestine Vancouver’s candidate page records her as committed to two of its four points, condemning the genocide in Gaza and cutting ties with Israeli institutions, including reviewing contracts, and as not committed to the Apartheid-Free Communities pledge or to the Arab Canadian Lawyers Association framework on anti-Palestinian racism.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
The statement is signed by Bonamis and ten other OneCity candidates, so its words are shared by the slate. It names no contract, purchasing rule, cost or date.
What still needs checking
Which purchasing rule Bonamis would ask Council to adopt, and by when.
HUB Cycling asks: slower local streets and connected bike routes
HUB Cycling, a regional cycling charity, asked candidates whether they support three asks. Its published Vancouver answers record Bonamis as answering yes to all three: 30 km/h speeds on local streets with traffic calming for young people travelling to and from school, doing this safety work in underserved neighbourhoods first, and joining local bike routes to the regional network with routes separated from traffic.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
The asks are HUB Cycling’s wording, so they earn no mechanism, target, cost or timeline point. She left the three comment boxes empty. The answers carry no date.
What still needs checking
Which streets would get 30 km/h limits first, which gaps in the bike network come first, what the work would cost and by when.
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.
City minutes name her as a speaker in opposition
Speaker at the public hearing on Downtown Eastside housing changes
The City’s minutes of the Public Hearing held on December 9, 11 and 16, 2025 list Iona Bonamis among the speakers who spoke in opposition to the application to amend the Zoning and Development By-law and the Downtown Eastside/Oppenheimer District Official Development Plan for Downtown Eastside housing. The hearing began on December 9 and the minutes do not say on which day she spoke.
Scope, limits and sources
The minutes list who spoke and give no record of what was said. Her campaign article of December 12, 2025 says the concern was displacement of vulnerable residents without enough deeply affordable housing. voche.me has not summarised the Council decision that ends the minutes.
Presented Broadway Plan emerging directions to the Seniors’ Advisory Committee
The minutes of the City’s Seniors’ Advisory Committee for January 22, 2021 record that Iona Bonamis, Planner, Transportation Planning Branch, and a communications coordinator gave a presentation titled Broadway Plan: Emerging Directions. The minutes say it covered the immediate timelines and the vision for the street, with great street elements, that will include public input.
Scope, limits and sources
This was staff work for the City, and the minutes record no vote. They give no record of what she said or which parts of the plan she wrote. voche.me read these minutes through the Internet Archive’s copy.
Reported by the campaign; City minutes list the motion and do not name speakers
Speech on a motion for more housing on quiet streets
Her site says she spoke in favour of a motion to allow up to six floors and corner stores on quiet, walkable and bikeable streets on September 17, 2025. The City’s minutes for that date record 12 speakers in support of the motion Beyond Arterials: Creating More Housing Options on Low-Traffic Streets and record that Council referred it to staff.
Scope, limits and sources
The minutes give speaker counts and no names, so her speech rests on her own site. Her site names the Finance and Services Standing Committee and the minutes are those of the Policy and Strategic Priorities Committee.
Reported by the campaign; City minutes list the motion and do not name speakers
Speech in support of a motion on the Women’s Equity Strategy
Her site says she spoke to the Finance and Services Standing Committee on November 5, 2025 in support of a motion to keep work on the Women’s Equity Strategy going after the City closed its Equity Office. The City’s minutes for that date record five speakers in support of the motion Ensuring Continuity of the Women’s Equity Strategy Following the Closure of the Equity Office, and record that it was carried unanimously.
Scope, limits and sources
The minutes give speaker counts and no names, so her speech rests on her own site.
Announced by the campaign; Council record not opened
Speech to Council against the 2026 budget
Her site says she spoke in opposition to the Zero Means Zero budget at City Council on November 16, 2025, citing effects on city services and staff morale.
Scope, limits and sources
November 16, 2025 was a Sunday. voche.me could not open the Council minutes for the budget meetings, so a person should check the date and the speaker list.
Read original statements and reporting, or open the publisher’s video. A summary of a speech is labelled separately from a full recording.
Statement
Answers to HUB Cycling's election survey
Bonamis answered yes to all three of HUB Cycling's asks: 30 km/h local streets near schools, safety work in underserved neighbourhoods first, and joining local bike routes to the regional network. She wrote no comments. The answers carry no date, so this date is the day voche.me read them.
Bonamis and ten other OneCity candidates signed a statement answering the four points of the Vote Palestine pledge. It condemns the genocide in Gaza, commits to local and ethical City purchasing, and says the candidates would not sign the Apartheid-Free Communities pledge or adopt the Arab Canadian Lawyers Association framework, giving their reasons. Vote Palestine Vancouver records her as committed to points 1 and 3.
At the Mid-Autumn Festival, Bonamis said most shops in the City-owned Chinatown Plaza are empty, that the City should fill its own building first, and that a plan of this kind needs a person responsible, a budget, a deadline and public reporting of results.
Bonamis told The Tyee that she prepared for online abuse before running again, that it has come mostly as racist comments on her social media posts after the court case over her ballot name, and that such comments discourage people from running when councils need more diverse voices.
After Judge Roger Cutler ruled that seven candidates could use their usual names, Bonamis said by phone to the Vancouver Sun that the decision brought relief, and said the hope is that future candidates can use the names their communities know them by without a court case.
Before the hearing, Bonamis told reporters the Chinese name has been part of a lifelong identity, was given at birth, and is used by relatives and by many people in the Chinese community.
Statement at Main Street Car Free Day on Connect Vancouver
In OneCity’s release, Bonamis said Vancouver can have streets where children bike to school safely and seniors can walk to the grocery store without fear, and that Mobi should be publicly owned to keep it stable. The release credits the Connect Vancouver commitments to OneCity.
The first video in a campaign series argued that public services and infrastructure in South Vancouver have fallen behind population growth, and gave the example of 110,000 residents sharing one public swimming pool.
Bonamis joined a Cantonese talk show panel about political misinformation reaching Chinese-Canadian residents, and called for an apology delivered through WeChat in Mandarin over false claims made about Councillor Sean Orr.
A campaign article said the City of Vancouver is not paying a living wage, criticised the five-year rolling average the city uses, and asked readers to contact council before a January 21, 2026 committee meeting on restoring the certification.
Bonamis wrote that inclusion is part of good city planning. She described her past work on the future transportation network for the Broadway Plan area and on a study of exposure to traffic emissions, and wrote that she is a Lead Planner at TransLink.
Bonamis spoke against the zero percent tax increase budget put forward by the mayor and ABC, raising the effect on city services and on staff morale. The campaign post gives a summary rather than the full remarks.
Writing in the Vancouver Sun as a 2022 council candidate, Bonamis set out five actions for Chinatown and linked the neighbourhood's problems to the concentration of housing and support services in the Downtown Eastside.
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.
Campaign dispute
Court application over the Chinese characters in the ballot name
Vancouver's chief election officer, Jason Twa, filed two provincial court applications asking whether the names on seven candidates' nomination papers, which pair an English name with a name in Chinese characters, are their usual names under the Vancouver Charter. Bonamis was named in one of the filings, together with ABC councillor Lenny Zhou and OneCity school board candidate Christopher Lee.
Candidate or party response
Bonamis said the Chinese name 陶思穎 was given at birth, is used professionally and on social media, and is what relatives and many people in the Chinese community use. Bonamis also said the challenge felt like being told that only part of an identity could appear on the ballot, and pointed out that another council candidate was allowed to use the usual name Rollergirl.
Verified status and limits
On September 18, 2026 Judge Roger Cutler ruled that all seven could use their usual names on the October 17 ballot, with written reasons to come later. The city lawyer said the chief election officer would be informed in time for the draw setting the ballot order.
Working at city hall while seeking a council nomination
A Vancouver Sun column reported that Bonamis kept working as a senior transportation planner at Vancouver City Hall for months after being announced as a OneCity council candidate in March 2022, and while seeking and receiving a Vancouver and District Labour Council endorsement. The column questioned whether the rules on leave for civic employees are clear, and stated that Bonamis had followed the rules and that nothing improper was suggested.
Candidate or party response
Bonamis agreed the rules should be clarified, said written notice was given in July 2022, unpaid leave began on August 15, 2022 and nomination papers were filed on the first day of the nomination period. Bonamis also said a plan was in place to avoid commenting on Vancouver projects on social media and that the staff work stayed impartial.
Verified status and limits
No rule required a separation of the two roles at the time, and the column reported no finding or complaint against Bonamis.
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 Tyee
Harassment and Hate on the Municipal Campaign Trail
Katie Hyslop reported on online abuse aimed at Vancouver candidates. Bonamis, Kareem Allam and Andy Lin described the hateful comments they receive, and the report says the comments Bonamis receives are mostly racist remarks on her social media posts.
B.C. judge rules Vancouver city candidates can use Chinese names on ballot
Judge Roger Cutler ruled the seven candidates, Bonamis among them, could use their usual names on the October 17 ballot, with written reasons to follow. The city lawyer told the court the decision arrived in time for the draw that sets the order of names.
Vancouver's lawyer challenges candidates seeking Chinese names on ballots
At the hearing, city lawyer Grant Murray told the court that every candidate except Bonamis appeared to use only the English name on social media, and said it was odd that the Chinese names were added after the original filings.
Sing Tao report on the court challenge over Chinese names on ballots
The Chinese-language report quotes two ABC candidates, Lenny Zhou and Lorraine Lowe, on the City’s court challenge. It names Bonamis once, in the sentence 在选举局的官网上，除了周楠和刘黛明，还有陶思颖(Iona Bonamis)也使用了中文名 (voche.me’s translation: on the election office’s website, besides Zhou Nan and Liu Daiming, 陶思颖 Iona Bonamis also uses a Chinese name). The report carries no words of hers.
Vancouver takes some civic election candidates to court over Chinese-character names
Chief election officer Jason Twa filed two provincial court applications asking whether the names on the nomination papers were the candidates' usual names under the Vancouver Charter. Bonamis, Lenny Zhou and Christopher Lee were named in one filing.
OneCity confirms 13 candidates for Vancouver civic election
OneCity's confirmed list put Bonamis among five council candidates alongside incumbent Lucy Maloney, Frances Bula, Jarrett Hagglund and Caitlin Stockwell.
Four OneCity party hopefuls form 'Builders' slate for Vancouver City Council race
Bonamis joined Frances Bula, Jarrett Hagglund and Mike Tan in a slate called OneCity Builders. Bonamis was quoted saying the career has been spent helping communities be more liveable, inclusive, safe and connected.
B.C. law lets city staff keep working as they run for council
Columnist Daphne Bramham examined the rules that let City of Vancouver staff campaign while employed, using the Bonamis candidacy as the main example, and wrote that Bonamis followed the rules to the letter with no suggestion of wrongdoing.
Ending Vancouver's 'apartment ban,' is it progress or 'disaster'?
Columnist Dan Fumano covered OneCity's 2022 proposal to allow apartment buildings in all residential neighbourhoods. Bonamis appeared as one of the four OneCity council candidates behind the proposal.
Sources checked October 3, 2026. Official records establish decisions; campaign material establishes stated positions; reporting adds investigation and context. None alone establishes every claim.
Sources describe the current employer differently. The Wikipedia article on the election gives the City of Vancouver, while Daily Hive in May 2026 and the Vancouver Sun in September 2026 say TransLink, and her own blog post of December 1, 2025 says she is a Lead Planner at TransLink. The campaign home page says she previously served as a senior transportation planner at the City. This record follows those sources. Campaign posts print the day and month but not the year, so the years for the Fairchild Radio panel, the first campaign video and the December 2025 posts come from the site's own sitemap and article order. The OneCity endorsement release could not be opened. Council and City pages returned HTTP 403 to direct requests on September 25 and October 3, 2026, including the City candidate list and the Council minutes for the November 2025 budget meetings, so her budget speech and the date the site gives for it are unchecked. Copies of other City minutes held by the Internet Archive or the r.jina.ai reader service were read. The committee minutes of September 17 and November 5, 2025 and January 21, 2026 print the number of speakers and not their names, so her speeches at those meetings rest on her own site. The judge's written reasons in the ballot name case had not been found by October 3, 2026. CTV News' September 19 report on the ruling returned only its headline and byline. No forum or campaign event that names Bonamis was found for October 3 to 17, 2026. The OneCity calendar lists canvassing and phone sessions and names no candidate. The Vancouver Food Justice Coalition says it will publish candidates' answers on food, and none were published by October 3. Her VoteMate profile now lists OneCity platform promises gathered by VoteMate, each labelled as a OneCity promise. They are the party's words, and this record leaves them out of her commitments.
Research status
What voche.me has checked
Evidence reviewed on September 22, 2026: Current campaign material; biographical claims require corroboration.
Campaign page read on September 22, 2026. 2 stated positions and 1 background fact recorded here, each checked against a quotation from that page.
Reviewed again on October 3, 2026: the campaign site, the OneCity candidate page and news releases, her Bluesky account, VoteMate, HUB Cycling and Vote Palestine Vancouver answers, news reporting, forum listings and the City minutes of January 21, 2026. Her role at Women Transforming Cities is now confirmed by that organization.
Checks still to do: Verify professional roles and separate City projects from TransLink responsibilities.
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.
03 / Background
Experience & community
As of 2026
Lead planner, TransLink
Daily Hive reported this role in May 2026 and the Vancouver Sun reported in September 2026 that Bonamis works as a TransLink planner.
A Vancouver Sun column reported this role and salary in 2022. The 2022 VoteMate profile says the work included leading a study on cutting traffic emissions and developing the transportation network for the Broadway Plan area.
Proposed questions for a future interview. They have not been sent to the candidate, and no answers have been supplied.
Which three transport connections would you prioritize, with costs and delivery dates?
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 Iona Bonamis (陶思穎) 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 Iona Bonamis (陶思穎)'s page itself, answered directly rather than left blank.
Is this an official page for Iona Bonamis (陶思穎)?
No. This page is researched by voche.me from public sources, listed below, and is separate from Iona Bonamis (陶思穎)'s own campaign.
What is Iona Bonamis (陶思穎)'s ballot number for the 2026 Vancouver election?
Iona Bonamis (陶思穎) is number 113 on the City of Vancouver's official 2026 ballot for City Council.
What party did Iona Bonamis (陶思穎) run with?
Iona Bonamis (陶思穎) ran for City Council with OneCity.
Does Iona Bonamis (陶思穎) currently hold public office?
Not according to this profile. voche.me has not listed a current public office for Iona Bonamis (陶思穎).
How many sources does this Iona Bonamis (陶思穎) profile cite?
This profile lists 4 sourced references, each with the date voche.me checked it, in the Sources section below.
Has Iona Bonamis (陶思穎) filed nomination papers for the 2026 election?
voche.me has not yet added a nomination record for Iona Bonamis (陶思穎). This does not mean no nomination paper was filed, only that voche.me has not completed that research yet.
Why do some questions on Iona Bonamis (陶思穎)'s page show no answer?
The "Questions & answers" section on this page lists questions voche.me would put to Iona Bonamis (陶思穎) 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 Iona Bonamis (陶思穎) 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/iona-bonamis-tosiewing) 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.
voche.me reopened the campaign site, the OneCity candidate page and all OneCity releases, her Bluesky account and VoteMate. Added: her statement at the Chinatown Plaza announcement of September 26, the OneCity statement on the Vote Palestine pledge that she signed on September 27, her HUB Cycling survey answers, her interview with The Tyee of September 24, and the online food town hall of October 13 with attendance unconfirmed. No calendar event dated before October 3 needed to be changed.
Living wage entry updated with the outcome
The entry said the outcome of the January 21, 2026 committee meeting was not found. The City minutes of that meeting record that the motion to recertify the City as a Living Wage Employer was lost, with seven members opposed, and CTV News reported the same day that it was defeated. The entry now says so.
The biography said the campaign site calls Bonamis a former co-chair of Women Transforming Cities. The organization’s own page lists her as a board director from 2022 to 2025 and a co-chair throughout 2025, and the record now cites that page.
voche.me reopened the campaign home page, its 16 articles and the OneCity candidate page behind each commitment, tagged each with its issue and whose words it is, and added commitments from her blog posts, her Bluesky account, OneCity releases that quote her, the Women Transforming Cities pledge page, and City minutes. Plan text in those releases is recorded as the party’s words.
Transport entry reworded and split
The entry combined infrastructure, speed and red-light cameras and bike share in one sentence. The camera pledge is now its own entry. The entry had also said speed and red-light camera programs in British Columbia are run by the province. No source on this record supports that sentence, so it was removed and the open question kept.
Housing entry reworded
The entry said Bonamis would build affordable housing near childcare, transit, services, parks and cultural spaces. The campaign page says enable affordable housing close to low-cost childcare, shops, restaurants, medical clinics, parks, recreation facilities, and arts and cultural spaces, and does not mention transit. The entry now uses the page’s words.
Inclusion and South Vancouver entries reworded and split
One entry combined bringing under-represented residents into City decisions with investing in East and South Vancouver. They are now two entries. The South Vancouver video entry said Bonamis would direct City investment there. The post says South Vancouver is long overdue for investment, and the entry now says that.
Living wage entry reworded
The entry said Bonamis would return the City to Living Wage Employer certification. Her article asks readers to support a motion by Councillors Lucy Maloney and Pete Fry to do that, and the entry now says she supports the motion.
Two entries came from the OneCity candidate page, which describes her career focus on walking, biking and transit and on meeting people in neighbourhoods. They state no measure for Council, so they are recorded as background.
Three biography lines corrected
One line said the campaign site states that Bonamis is a registered professional planner and a University of British Columbia graduate. That wording is in an endorsement by a professor printed on the site, and the line now says so. Another line named a business called A Healthy Beginning. No page of the campaign site read on this date gives that name, so the name was removed. A third line said the 2022 VoteMate profile lists a degree in community and regional planning. The profile prints Community and Regional Programming, and the line now uses that wording.
