Jas Virdi is a sitting Vancouver Park Board commissioner seeking a second term with ABC Vancouver, ballot number 228. This record covers the campaign page, the public record of the 2022 to 2026 term, three integrity commissioner matters, and news coverage up to September 22, 2026.
No public appearance by this candidate was confirmed in the sources checked on September 22, 2026. The voting dates below apply to every voter. An empty day is a gap in the research, not proof that nothing is happening.
Checked September 22, 2026 · All event times are Vancouver local time. Recheck the organizer before travelling.
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 Jas Virdi
Jas Virdi appears on the City of Vancouver's final 2026 candidate list for Park Board, with ballot number 228. The City records the affiliation as ABC Vancouver.
The official roster for the current term lists Jas Virdi as a Vancouver Park Board commissioner. That is a separate office from the one on this 2026 ballot entry.
The page says Virdi is an elected Park Board Commissioner with ABC Vancouver. The page says Virdi holds a Microbiology degree from Simon Fraser University and a Pharmaceutical Sciences degree from the University of British Columbia. The page says the candidate has been a pharmacist for nine years and has owned and run a pharmacy for six of them.
The ABC Vancouver campaign page says Virdi holds degrees from Simon Fraser University in microbiology and from the University of British Columbia in pharmaceutical sciences.
The ABC Vancouver campaign page says Virdi has worked as a pharmacist for nine years and has run an own pharmacy for six of them, including vaccination clinics at community centres.
The ABC Vancouver campaign page says Virdi played field hockey for Team Vancouver, Team British Columbia and Team Canada at the junior level.
Virdi was elected to the Vancouver Park Board in the October 2022 civic election as one of six ABC Vancouver commissioners. The published results table for that election records 58,709 votes for Virdi, fifth among the seven commissioners elected.
Virdi has told public meetings and reporters that the push for a sensory and accessible park came from personal family experience. Both the Vancouver Sun and Global News reported that point in January 2024.
Virdi appears on the 2026 ballot at number 228 as an ABC Vancouver candidate for Park Board commissioner.
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.
6 commitments shown · Checked Sep 22
2026 · Recreation facilitiesCampaign pledge
New pools for Sunset and Marpole
Virdi says the work to win replacement swimming pools in the Sunset and Marpole areas of South Vancouver will continue, after the Park Board majority voted in July 2026 against adding both projects to the 2027 to 2030 capital plan.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
The Indo-Canadian Voice report of July 14, 2026 quotes Virdi saying the campaign will continue until South Vancouver gets the pools. The report does not say how the projects would be funded or on what timeline.
What still needs checking
Whether a later capital plan or Park Board decision adds the Sunset and Marpole pools, and where the money comes from.
The ABC campaign page says Virdi has worked on park maintenance, sports facility improvement and accessible community space, and will continue that focus.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
This comes from the party page alone. No independent source was found that measures what changed on maintenance or sports facilities during the 2022 to 2026 term.
What still needs checking
Which specific maintenance or sports facility decisions Virdi moved or voted for, and what was built.
In January 2024 Virdi asked the Park Board to plan a dedicated destination park for neurodivergent children and children with mobility challenges.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
Global News reported that the board passed an amended version on January 23, 2024 that removed the dedicated park and instead directed staff to report on accessible and sensory features under the existing VanPlay policy. Virdi said the amendments ignored what parents had told the board.
What still needs checking
Whether any dedicated sensory park has since been funded or built, and what the accessible play area work under VanPlay has delivered.
In December 2023 Virdi said publicly that the Park Board is redundant and inefficient and that one elected body should make parks decisions, and voted against a motion to reaffirm the board's independence.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
Daily Hive and Vancouver Is Awesome both recorded the statement and the 4 to 3 vote of December 11, 2023, with Virdi, Marie-Claire Howard and Angela Haer opposed to the motion. In July 2026 Mayor Ken Sim said ABC was dropping the plan to abolish the board and would run Park Board candidates instead.
What still needs checking
Whether Virdi now supports keeping an elected Park Board, and what ABC would do if a referendum were held.
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.
Approved
Sensory and accessible park motion, amended by the board
The Park Board passed an amended version of Virdi's motion. The amendments removed the dedicated park and directed staff to report on progress on accessible and sensory play features under an existing policy, and asked the Vancouver Parks Foundation to raise private money for sensory equipment.
Scope, limits and sources
Board chair Laura Christensen said passing another unfunded motion would not achieve the objective. The chair of the Pacific Autism Family Centre Foundation wrote to the board calling the amendments offensive.
Sunset and Marpole pools left out of the capital plan
A majority of commissioners voted against adding new pools in Sunset and Marpole to the 2027 to 2030 capital plan. Virdi supported both projects.
Scope, limits and sources
The report says commissioners from the Vancouver Liberals and the Vancouver Greens argued South Vancouver already has enough investment. Residents had spoken in favour after the closures of Sunset Pool and the Langara YMCA pool.
Read original statements and reporting, or open the publisher’s video. A summary of a speech is labelled separately from a full recording.
Speech
Park Board meeting statement on the board's effectiveness
At the first Park Board meeting after Mayor Ken Sim proposed abolishing the board, Virdi said motions pass but nothing gets done, that studies on unfunded motions waste money, and that the board is redundant and inefficient.
Virdi argued that a destination park was needed so that families of neurodivergent children would know they would meet others in the same position, and said the amendments set aside what parents had told the board.
Vancouver Sun interview after the Sunset pool vote
Virdi told the Vancouver Sun that the board is broken and that the split between ABC and independent commissioners stops it working. Virdi said the objection was that the motion was voted on before going to committee, and said the treatment felt discriminatory.
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.
Official finding
Integrity commissioner found a public statement about a fellow commissioner was untrue
Integrity commissioner Lisa Southern investigated a complaint by Commissioner Laura Christensen after Virdi said at a public meeting on January 23, 2024 that Christensen had made a discriminatory remark about autistic children at a 2022 ABC platform meeting. Southern concluded the evidence showed Christensen did not make the remark and that Virdi's statement was therefore untrue, and that Virdi had given no explanation for not being reckless about its truth. The Vancouver Sun reported the finding as a breach of the board's code of conduct.
Candidate or party response
Virdi told the investigation that the remark could not have come from anyone else, described the effect of it, and said the statement was made during a heated meeting on a subject of personal importance. No separate public apology or reply by Virdi was found.
Verified status and limits
Southern made no specific recommendation about Virdi and said publishing the report was the correction Christensen had asked for. All commissioners were told to complete mandatory code of conduct and respectful communication training by the end of June 2024. The report went to the board on June 24, 2024.
Integrity commissioner found ABC commissioners met on board business out of public view
After a complaint by Green Councillor Pete Fry, integrity commissioner Lisa Southern found that six commissioners elected in 2022 under ABC, including Virdi, used an ABC-only group chat and held meetings in February and May 2023 that advanced Park Board decision making out of public view, including agreeing in advance how to vote on the Stanley Park bike lane and Moberly Park turf fields.
Candidate or party response
Virdi, Angela Haer and Marie-Claire Howard argued the meetings were protected by the Vancouver Charter and that the complaint fell outside the board's policies, and Southern rejected that argument. ABC president Stephen Molnar said in a statement that the party disagreed with the narrow interpretation and that the gatherings were informal strategy sessions with no binding decisions.
Verified status and limits
The decision carries no penalties. Any sanction would have to be set by the Park Board itself. No sanction was found in later reporting.
Investigator found Virdi defamed a fellow commissioner and recommended a reprimand
Investigator Jamie Pytel of Kingsgate Legal, hired for the Park Board integrity commissioner, reported on cross complaints from April 2025. Pytel found Virdi defamed independent Commissioner Scott Jensen at the April 14, 2025 meeting with false accusations of discrimination, and separately found independent Commissioner Brennan Bastyovanszky defamed Virdi in a CKNW interview a week later by suggesting Virdi's Sunset pool motion could personally benefit a nearby business. Pytel found insufficient information that Jensen and Bastyovanszky had regularly denied Virdi equal opportunity to take part in meetings.
Candidate or party response
No published reply from Virdi to the report was found. Pytel recorded that Virdi declined to answer questions about the member's motion and left the meeting before the vote.
Verified status and limits
Pytel's December 1, 2025 report, released December 12, 2025, recommended a letter of reprimand to Virdi, a request for an apology and Virdi's response to that request, and recommended the board ask Bastyovanszky for a letter of apology to Virdi. Whether the board acted on the recommendations was not established.
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
Vancouver Is Awesome
Commissioners vote 4-3 against Vancouver mayor's plan to abolish elected park board
Mike Howell reported the 4 to 3 vote on Brennan Bastyovanszky's motion to reaffirm the board's independence, opposed by ABC commissioners Marie-Claire Howard, Angela Haer and Jas Virdi, and quoted Virdi's criticism of the board.
“We waste taxpayers' money”: ABC commissioner on Vancouver Park Board's existence
Kenneth Chan reported Virdi's remarks at the December 11 meeting about unfunded motions, spending on food and events, and the view that one body should make parks decisions.
Vancouver Park Board scuttles dedicated sensory and accessible park idea
Simon Little reported that the board passed an amended motion that removed the dedicated park, with reaction from Virdi, board chair Laura Christensen and the Pacific Autism Family Centre Foundation.
Vancouver park board dispute sparks integrity commissioner probe
Mike Howell set out the integrity commissioner's investigation into Virdi's January 2024 claim about a remark by Commissioner Laura Christensen, including the evidence each gave.
Vancouver's integrity czar says park board commissioner breached code of conduct
David Carrigg reported that a park board commissioner breached the code of conduct by falsely stating that a rival commissioner made an offensive comment about children with autism.
Watchdog finds Vancouver ABC park commissioners flouted policy with secret meetings
Akshay Kulkarni reported the integrity commissioner's finding that six commissioners, including Virdi, held caucus meetings that advanced Park Board decision making out of public view.
Vancouver park board is 'broken,' says commissioner after pool vote
Denise Ryan reported Virdi's account of leaving the April 14, 2025 meeting after the board voted on the Sunset pool motion without sending it to committee.
Bob Mackin reported on investigator Jamie Pytel's December 1, 2025 report into cross complaints between Virdi and two independent commissioners, and the recommended sanctions on both sides.
ABC's park board commissioners aren't actually going to run again, are they?
In an opinion column, Nathan Caddell wrote that the Straight had asked the three remaining ABC commissioners, including Virdi, whether they would run again and received no reply, and read a recent post by Virdi as a sign of a return to the race.
Once again, it looks like ABC Vancouver members won't be attending all-candidates debates
An opinion column reporting that ABC members were not scheduled to attend a council candidates debate organised by Women Transforming Cities and that the party did not answer questions about it. The column does not name individual Park Board candidates.
Ken Sim's ABC platform promises property tax freeze, end to residential parking permit fees
Kenneth Chan set out ABC's combined platform. The Park Board part promises new aquatic centres in Sunset and Marpole with a 50-metre lap pool, an end to paid parking at Jericho Beach, Spanish Banks and community centres, double the number of dog parks, permanent repair of the Stanley Park Train, and open access at Kitsilano Pool. These are the party's commitments.
Sources checked September 22, 2026. Official records establish decisions; campaign material establishes stated positions; reporting adds investigation and context. None alone establishes every claim.
No all-candidates forum or campaign event between September 22 and October 17, 2026 could be confirmed for Virdi. The Georgia Straight reported in August 2026 that ABC members were not scheduled for a council candidates debate, and that report does not cover Park Board candidates. No 2026 interview with Virdi was found in any outlet. The campaign page claims about the SFU and UBC degrees, the nine years as a pharmacist, and the field hockey teams were not confirmed by any independent source. The 2022 vote total comes from a published results table that cites the City of Vancouver; the City's own results page could not be opened. Whether the Park Board acted on the December 2025 recommendation of a letter of reprimand was not established.
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 3 background facts recorded here. This site blocks automated requests, so each quotation was read from the live page twice, independently.
Checks still to do: Match Jas on the ballot to Jaspreet on campaign pages; verify votes, costs and project status.
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
Current term
Vancouver Park Board commissioner
The official roster lists Jas Virdi in this office during the term that ends with the 2026 election. Individual votes and decisions have not been reviewed for this profile.
Elected in October 2022 on the ABC Vancouver slate. Remained with ABC after three colleagues left the party in December 2023, and stayed in the ABC minority group on the board for the rest of the term.
The campaign page says Virdi has practised as a pharmacist for nine years and has owned a pharmacy for six, providing vaccinations and community health clinics.
