Leonard Vanderstar is the Independent Parks Party candidate for Park Board, ballot number 202, in the October 17, 2026 election. The City's candidate list gives his place of residence as Smithers. His own words come from a campaign video on the party's Vimeo channel and from his answers to the Vancouver Public Space Network's Park Board survey. A BC Supreme Court decision records that a Leonard Vanderstar spoke to the Park Board about Stanley Park tree removal in 2024 and that his sworn written statements were before the Board in 2025. This record sets out what could be confirmed and what remains unconfirmed.
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.
Parks and recreation4/10
2/2
A position in the candidate’s own words
“I became very concerned about how Vancouver parks are being managed, specifically, deviation from ensuring lasting ecological sustainability, affordable access, quality of experience and shifts to privatization and corporatization.”
The questionnaire has not been sent yet. No candidate has this point.
Independent Parks Party’s platform on parks: 9 commitments, at least one with a number. Party text earns the candidate the position point only.
What this office controls. Vancouver is the only major city in Canada with a separately elected park board. Its seven commissioners control parks, community centres, pools, rinks and beaches.
“the City of Vancouver’s present ability to outsource up to $2 million dollars for works within parks without the approval of elected Park Board Commissioners. This is unacceptable.”
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.
The questionnaire has not been sent yet. No candidate has this point.
Independent Parks Party’s platform on taxes and budget: 4 commitments, at least one with a number. Party text earns the candidate the position point only.
What this office controls. The Park Board sets its own fees and approves its budget request. Council approves the City budget that funds it and the capital plan that pays for park buildings.
The questionnaire has not been sent yet. No candidate has this point.
Independent Parks Party’s platform on climate: 7 commitments, none with a number. Party text earns the candidate the position point only.
What this office controls. The Park Board manages trees, natural areas and the shoreline inside parks, and its own community centres, pools and rinks. The City’s building bylaw is Council’s.
Party platform; candidate not quoted. Independent Parks Party publishes 1 commitment on this issue.
0/2
Names a mechanism the office controls
Party text earns no points here; the statement must be the candidate’s own.
0/2
States a measurable target
Party text earns no points here; the statement must be the candidate’s own.
0/1
States a cost or funding source
Party text earns no points here; the statement must be the candidate’s own.
0/1
States a timeline
Party text earns no points here; the statement must be the candidate’s own.
0/1
A dated, sourced action on the issue
No dated public action on this issue found.
0/1
Answered the voche.me question on the issue
The questionnaire has not been sent yet. No candidate has this point.
Independent Parks Party’s platform on public safety: 1 commitment, none with a number. Party text earns the candidate the position point only.
What this office controls. The Park Board makes the bylaws and rules for parks and beaches and runs the park rangers. Policing is the Vancouver Police Department’s, and Council approves its budget.
Party platform; candidate not quoted. Independent Parks Party publishes 2 commitments on this issue.
0/2
Names a mechanism the office controls
Party text earns no points here; the statement must be the candidate’s own.
0/2
States a measurable target
Party text earns no points here; the statement must be the candidate’s own.
0/1
States a cost or funding source
Party text earns no points here; the statement must be the candidate’s own.
0/1
States a timeline
Party text earns no points here; the statement must be the candidate’s own.
0/1
A dated, sourced action on the issue
No dated public action on this issue found.
0/1
Answered the voche.me question on the issue
The questionnaire has not been sent yet. No candidate has this point.
Independent Parks Party’s platform on transport: 2 commitments, none with a number. Party text earns the candidate the position point only.
What this office controls. The Park Board decides the roads, paths and parking inside parks, including Stanley Park Drive. City streets and bike lanes outside parks are Council’s.
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 Leonard Vanderstar
Leonard Vanderstar appears on the City of Vancouver's final 2026 candidate list for Park Board, with ballot number 202. The City records the affiliation as Independent Parks Party and gives his place of residence as Smithers, B.C. The City's entry lists no social media account and no contact route for him.
Daily Hive's published ballot order lists Vanderstar at number 202 for Park Board with the Independent Parks Party.
VoteMate's party page for the Independent Parks Party lists five park board candidates: Niknaz Alemi, Michael Robert Caditz, Brynja Marshall, Cam Rothery and Leonard Vanderstar. The party runs candidates for park board only, and Vanderstar's own VoteMate profile confirms the party and the race.
The Independent Parks Party website says it is a project of the Association for the Promotion of Science in Governance, a British Columbia non-profit organization, and carries an election authorization by Michael Robert Caditz.
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.
A campaign video published on the party's Vimeo channel on September 13, 2026 has Vanderstar speaking in his own voice about why he is running. He says he was an expert witness on tree removal in Stanley Park. A BC Supreme Court decision of December 17, 2025, on a challenge to the Stanley Park tree removal brought by the Stanley Park Preservation Society and four people including Michael Robert Caditz, records that a Leonard Vanderstar spoke to a Park Board committee about the work on December 9, 2024, and that sworn written statements from Leonard Vanderstar were part of the material before the Park Board when it approved the last phase of the work on July 21, 2025. The decision gives no further detail about his role or what he said.
In his answers to the Vancouver Public Space Network's 2026 Park Board candidate survey, published by September 29, 2026, Vanderstar says his first act would be to stop tree removal in Stanley Park, except for trees that a provincially certified danger tree assessment finds to be an immediate risk to people or property. He also says he would take part in the party's proposed Green Canopy Office because of his professional background in forest ecology. That background is his own account.
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.
17 commitments shown · Checked Oct 3
2026 · Parks and recreationCampaign pledge
Concerned about the direction of park management
Vanderstar's campaign video says he became concerned about how Vancouver parks are managed, pointing to a move away from ecological sustainability, affordable access and quality of experience, and a shift toward privatization and corporatization.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
The video states a general concern. It names no bylaw, program, number, cost or date.
What still needs checking
Which specific park policy, lease or contract would he change first?
Vanderstar's campaign video calls for uniting to stop what he calls the commercialization of parks and to speak up for forests, trails, playgrounds, sport fields and pools.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
A statement of approach. It names no specific facility, contract, number or date.
What still needs checking
Which commercial arrangement would he move to end first, and on what timeline?
Vanderstar's campaign video says the City can outsource up to $2 million in park works without the elected Park Board's approval, and calls that unacceptable.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
The party's own platform, read separately, says a Park Board Procurement Policy amendment raised this delegated outsourcing authority from $750,000 to $2 million, and that the party would repeal it. Vanderstar's own words state the concern but do not themselves name a repeal, a new threshold, a cost or a date, so no mechanism, target, cost or timeline point applies to his own statement.
What still needs checking
Would he move to repeal the amendment himself, and to what threshold?
Vanderstar's campaign video says good decisions depend on good information and on responding effectively to public concerns, which he says the current Park Board lacks.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
A statement of approach to decision-making. It names no consultation process, meeting rule, number or date.
What still needs checking
What consultation or reporting rule would he put in place?
Party platform: repeal the outsourcing authority increase
The Independent Parks Party's platform says it would repeal the Park Board Procurement Policy amendment that raised the City's delegated outsourcing authority for park works from $750,000 to $2 million.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
The platform names the amendment and the two dollar figures. It names no date for a repeal motion. The position does not name Vanderstar individually.
Background: environmental and governance experience
Vanderstar's campaign video says he and Michael Caditz are founding directors of the Association for the Promotion of Science in Governance, the non-profit behind the party, and describes his own record of environmental work.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
Background from his own video. It names no specific park policy, number, cost or date, so it is tagged to no scored issue and earns no points.
What still needs checking
What would this experience cost or change, and by when?
Asked what one change he would make in one park on his first day, Vanderstar's survey answer says he would stop tree removal in Stanley Park, except for trees found to be an immediate risk to people or property using provincially certified danger tree assessment methods.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
The answer names the park and the assessment standard that would decide which trees may be removed. It gives no cost, no number of trees and no date.
What still needs checking
Would he bring a motion to the Board to set this rule, and what would happen to work already under contract?
Replant the Stanley Park forest with native species
The same answer says he would restore and promote the forest canopy in Stanley Park with tree species that match the coastal western hemlock forest zone.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
A statement of approach. It names no number of trees, cost or date.
What still needs checking
How many trees would be planted, at what cost, and over what period?
In answer to a question on climate, Vanderstar's survey answer says the party will set up a Green Canopy Office, a panel of experts to help the Park Board direct City staff on tree care in parks, and that he would be directly involved because of his background in forest ecology.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
The answer names a new Board office and what it would do. It gives no cost, membership number or date.
What still needs checking
What would the office cost, how many experts would sit on it, and when would it start?
Party position: rescind the Nelson Park substation approval
Vanderstar's survey answer says the party will work to cancel the Park Board's approval for the BC Hydro substation at Nelson Park and ask the British Columbia Utilities Commission to refuse the permit.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
This passage repeats, word for word, text that Michael Robert Caditz gave in the same survey, so it is counted as party text. It names no date for a motion.
Party position: review the Burrard View Park food forest and fire pit
Vanderstar's survey answer says the party will carry out a full review of the food forest and fire pit at Burrard View Park, considering the needs of the neighbourhood.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
This passage repeats, word for word, text that Michael Robert Caditz gave in the same survey, so it is counted as party text. It names no date or cost.
Vanderstar's survey answer says park funding through commercialization and privatization must end, and that parks should be paid for from the City's tax base, provincial and federal grants and affordable user fees, agreed between the Park Board and the City.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
A statement of approach to funding. It names no budget figure, fee level or date.
What still needs checking
Which current commercial agreements would end, and how would the lost revenue be replaced?
Vanderstar's survey answer says the party will make sure the Park Board is kept and keeps its authority over the City's parks, and says moves to abolish it are one reason he is running.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
A statement of position. It names no specific step, number or date.
What still needs checking
What would he do if Council or the Province moved to end the Board?
Continue shared management of parks with First Nations
Asked whether he would continue the Board's work toward reconciliation and co-management with the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Nations, Vanderstar's survey answer calls shared management of parks (co-management) a good thing and says corporations owned by Indigenous groups will be treated the same as other corporations.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
A statement of approach. It names no agreement, process, cost or date.
What still needs checking
Which co-management agreements would he keep, change or add?
Vanderstar's survey answer says affordable access for everyone and support for multicultural events in parks would help reduce division and social isolation.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
A statement of approach. It names no fee level, program, cost or date.
What still needs checking
Which fees would he lower, and which events would the Board support?
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.
Statement
Answers to the Vancouver Public Space Network Park Board survey
He answered all 10 questions. He calls for stopping tree removal in Stanley Park except for trees found to be an immediate risk, a Green Canopy Office of experts, an end to park funding through commercial deals, monthly town halls, keeping the Park Board, and continued shared management of parks with First Nations. Two passages repeat text that Michael Robert Caditz gave in the same survey. The answers were listed on the survey's index page, last updated September 29, 2026.
Spoke to a Park Board committee on Stanley Park tree removal
The BC Supreme Court's decision of December 17, 2025 lists a Leonard Vanderstar among the members of the public who spoke to the Park Board committee on December 9, 2024, when the Board approved speeding up part of the third phase of the Stanley Park tree removal. The decision does not report what he said. His campaign video says he was an expert witness on Stanley Park tree removal, which matches this record.
Sworn statements before the Park Board on Stanley Park tree removal
The same decision lists sworn written statements (affidavits) of Leonard Vanderstar in the material before the Park Board on July 21, 2025, when it approved the rest of the third phase of the Stanley Park tree removal. The decision gives no summary of what the statements said.
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
Daily Hive
Vancouver's 2026 civic election candidate list is set: All 130 names in ballot order
Vanderstar is listed at ballot number 202 for Park Board with the Independent Parks Party.
Sources checked October 3, 2026. Official records establish decisions; campaign material establishes stated positions; reporting adds investigation and context. None alone establishes every claim.
No personal website for Vanderstar was found, and the City's candidate list shows no social media or contact route for him. The party's home page (parksparty.vote) serves only navigation, a login prompt and its authorization line to a plain request; its Upcoming Activities page shows no text, so no party event naming him could be read. The party's platform, 33 numbered positions at parksparty.vote/Platform, names no individual commissioner. His VoteMate profile confirms his party and office and holds no biography or promises. The BC Supreme Court decision on the Stanley Park tree removal names a Leonard Vanderstar as a speaker at the Park Board in December 2024 and lists his sworn written statements before the Board in July 2025; it does not say what he said, and the statements themselves were not found online. Park Board committee minutes for both dates give speaker counts only. The City's list gives his residence as Smithers, and a Len Vanderstar who works as an ecosystems biologist in Smithers appears in other public pages; no campaign or independent page says they are the same person, so that work record is left out. His claim to be a founding director of the Association for the Promotion of Science in Governance has not been checked against the provincial register of societies. No news report, interview or debate appearance naming Vanderstar was found other than the Daily Hive ballot list. The Kerrisdale Community Centre's list of confirmed speakers for its September 29 Park Board meeting does not include him, and the October 3 West End forum notice does not name who will attend.
Research status
What voche.me has checked
Evidence reviewed on September 22 and 26, 2026, and again on October 3, 2026: the City's Park Board candidate list, a campaign video in which Vanderstar states his own reasons for running, his answers to the Vancouver Public Space Network's Park Board survey, the party's website and platform, his VoteMate profile, the party's Bluesky posts, a BC Supreme Court decision on Stanley Park tree removal, and Park Board committee minutes.
The party's home page holds only navigation and a login prompt. Its platform, 33 numbered positions, is posted at a separate address and does not name any individual commissioner, so none of it is counted as Vanderstar's own words. Two passages in his survey answers repeat, word for word, text that Michael Robert Caditz gave in the same survey, so those passages are treated as party text.
The City's list gives his place of residence as Smithers. A Len Vanderstar who works as an ecosystems biologist in Smithers appears in other public pages, and in the survey the candidate says he has a professional background in forest ecology. No page published by the campaign or by an independent source says the two are the same person, so voche.me has not used that biologist's work record in this profile.
The ballot name, office, ballot number and party label come from the City's final candidate list. Everything described as campaign material is the candidate's or the party's own account and has not been confirmed by an independent source unless stated otherwise.
03 / Background
Experience & community
2024 to 2025
Public submissions to the Park Board on Stanley Park tree removal
A BC Supreme Court decision records that a Leonard Vanderstar spoke to a Park Board committee on December 9, 2024 about the Stanley Park tree removal plan, and that his sworn written statements were part of the material before the Park Board on July 21, 2025. His campaign video describes this as his role as an expert witness.
Founding director, Association for the Promotion of Science in Governance
His campaign video says he and Michael Caditz are founding directors of this non-profit, which the party's website names as the body behind the Independent Parks Party. voche.me has not checked this against the provincial register of societies.
Proposed questions for a future interview. They have not been sent to the candidate, and no answers have been supplied.
What experience and three Park Board proposals would you like voters to assess?
No response has been submitted.
How would you divide funding between existing-facility maintenance, affordable access and new construction?
No response has been submitted.
Have your own question?
Ask Leonard Vanderstar 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 Leonard Vanderstar's page itself, answered directly rather than left blank.
Is this an official page for Leonard Vanderstar?
No. This page is researched by voche.me from public sources, listed below, and is separate from Leonard Vanderstar's own campaign.
What is Leonard Vanderstar's ballot number for the 2026 Vancouver election?
Leonard Vanderstar is number 202 on the City of Vancouver's official 2026 ballot for Park Board.
What party did Leonard Vanderstar run with?
Leonard Vanderstar ran for Park Board with Independent Parks Party.
Does Leonard Vanderstar currently hold public office?
Not according to this profile. voche.me has not listed a current public office for Leonard Vanderstar.
How many sources does this Leonard Vanderstar profile cite?
This profile lists 4 sourced references, each with the date voche.me checked it, in the Sources section below.
Has Leonard Vanderstar filed nomination papers for the 2026 election?
voche.me has not yet added a nomination record for Leonard Vanderstar. This does not mean no nomination paper was filed, only that voche.me has not completed that research yet.
Why do some questions on Leonard Vanderstar's page show no answer?
The "Questions & answers" section on this page lists questions voche.me would put to Leonard Vanderstar 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 Leonard Vanderstar ran in?
The 2026 Vancouver municipal election, including the Park Board race, was decided on October 17, 2026.
06 / Candidate contributions
Space for campaign updates
Record reviewed, with a correction on the Stanley Park court case
This profile said that no court record named Vanderstar in connection with Stanley Park tree removal. That was wrong. The BC Supreme Court's decision of December 17, 2025 (2025 BCSC 2500) names a Leonard Vanderstar among the people who spoke to a Park Board committee on December 9, 2024, and lists his sworn written statements in the material before the Board on July 21, 2025. The biography, experience and research notes now say so. Also added on this date: his answers to the Vancouver Public Space Network's Park Board survey, the City's listing of his residence as Smithers, and the October 3 Park Board forum in the West End as an unconfirmed event. No calendar entries dated before October 3 were in the record, so none were changed or removed.
