This record covers Mark Halyk, ballot number 208, running for Vancouver Park Board with the Vancouver Liberals. Halyk managed the Park Board's food and beverage operations for twelve years and was laid off in January 2026, which is the subject of most of the reporting about the candidacy.
1 upcoming public event were found in the sources checked on September 22, 2026. An event being scheduled does not mean this candidate will attend. Attendance is marked separately.
Checked September 22, 2026 · All event times are Vancouver local time. Recheck the organizer before travelling.
Attendance is identified for each event. Unconfirmed listings are not confirmed candidate appearances.
7 pm
Public forumAttendance unconfirmed
All Candidates Meeting, Mount Pleasant
Mount Pleasant Community Centre, 1 Kingsway
The organisers list one Park Board candidate per party and record the Vancouver Liberals Park Board seat as to be announced, so no named candidate is confirmed.
Organised by the Mount Pleasant Community Centre Association and the Strathcona Community Centre Association. The Vancouver Liberals council seat at the meeting is also listed as to be announced.
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 Mark Halyk
Mark Halyk appears on the City of Vancouver's final 2026 candidate list for Park Board, with ballot number 208. The City records the affiliation as Vancouver Liberals.
The page says Halyk worked more than ten years inside the Vancouver Park Board as a senior leader in Commercial Services. The page says Halyk worked in hospitality and owned and ran businesses before joining the Park Board. The page says Halyk is a member at Christ Church Cathedral and serves there as a Trustee.
The Vancouver Sun reported that Halyk was the Park Board's manager of food and beverage operations for 12 years, with more than two decades in hospitality beforehand, including six years as chef manager for the Four Seasons hotel chain in Toronto.
The Vancouver Sun reported that Halyk's position ended in January 2026 as part of the City's cost cutting, and that the City said the decision was about reducing costs and not about performance.
Daily Hive reported on May 30, 2026 that the Vancouver Liberals had approved Halyk as a Park Board candidate, and that this is the first time Halyk has run for office.
The campaign page says Halyk owned and ran a catering company, was a partner in a Victoria restaurant called Saveur, and serves as trustee and rector's warden at Christ Church Cathedral.
Halyk appears at ballot number 208 on the Park Board ballot, listed with the Vancouver Liberals, one of seven Vancouver Liberals Park Board candidates.
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.
9 commitments shown · Checked Sep 22
2026 · Parks and recreationCampaign pledge
Make park food operations pay for parks
Halyk says the aim is to keep improving Park Board food and beverage operations so they generate revenue for parks, and to keep sourcing food locally.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
Halyk said this to Daily Hive in May 2026 and the campaign page repeats it. Neither gives a revenue target for the coming term.
What still needs checking
What revenue would the Park Board aim for, and from which sites?
Halyk says partnerships between the Park Board and private operators can renew public spaces while producing money for parks and recreation programming, pointing to the Kitsilano Pool arrangement as the model.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
Stated on the campaign page and described in the VanRamblings profile. Neither names the next sites or says how contracts would be awarded.
What still needs checking
Which concessions would be next, and would the contracts go to open tender?
Halyk told Daily Hive there are many chances to raise revenue and improve food and beverage operations, and that work does not get done when staff lack clear direction.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
This is a statement of the problem. The article does not describe a specific management change Halyk would make as a commissioner.
What still needs checking
What would change in how the Park Board directs this work?
Halyk says pools, fields, community centres and green spaces should be maintained, and families across the city should have access to modern and affordable recreation, with planning that balances cost, climate resilience and access to places such as Kitsilano Pool.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
Set out in the VanRamblings profile and on the campaign page. No costing or capital list is given.
What still needs checking
Which facilities are treated as priorities for repair, and at what cost?
Halyk says Vancouver should have parks and recreation services that are well run, financially sustainable and centred on community needs rather than on bureaucracy.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
This quote appears on the Vancouver Liberals candidates page and on the campaign page. No specific process or rule is named.
What still needs checking
Which approvals or processes would be removed or shortened?
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
Kitsilano Pool concession partnership
The Vancouver Sun reported that Halyk worked with the local company Batch to replace a basic concession stand at Kitsilano Pool with a patio offering lighting, seating, live music, and food and alcohol service. It ran in the summer of 2024 under special event licences, obtained a liquor licence in 2025, and its capacity rose to 475 people. Concession sales at the site went from under $80,000 in 2023 to more than $2.4 million in 2025. Park Board food and beverage operations overall went from losing money each year to a profit of $2.2 million in 2025, which the Sun reported was $800,000 above the projection.
Scope, limits and sources
The figures come from reporting by Dan Fumano of the Vancouver Sun, read through the Yahoo News Canada syndication of the article, dated April 22, 2026. The same article reports that Halyk's position ended in January 2026.
Read original statements and reporting, or open the publisher’s video. A summary of a speech is labelled separately from a full recording.
Statement
Statement on joining the Vancouver Liberals slate
Halyk told Daily Hive of being proud of making Park Board food operations and sourcing profitable and local, and said there are many chances to raise revenue that go unused when staff do not have clear direction.
Records are labelled by type, including official findings, civil proceedings and political disputes where applicable. Each entry identifies the response found in the sources and the latest status verified for this page.
No reviewed entries have been added to this section yet. This is a research gap, not a finding about the candidate.
News coverage / Original publishers
Read the reporting
A dated reading list from independent publishers. The headings below are voche.me summaries; follow each link for the original article, context and any corrections.
Reporting
The Vancouver Sun
A Vancouver park board manager transformed a concession stand, then was laid off
Dan Fumano's article traces the Kitsilano Pool patio from a special event licence in summer 2024 to a liquor licence in 2025 and a capacity of 475, sets out the revenue figures, and reports that Halyk's job ended in January 2026 in a round of city cost cutting. The City said the decision was about cost and not performance. The article was read through the Yahoo News Canada syndication.
Former OneCity hopeful, ex-Park Board manager join Vancouver Liberals slate
Kenneth Chan reports that the Vancouver Liberals approved Halyk and Shayla Bird as candidates, sets out Halyk's twelve years managing Park Board food and beverage operations, the January 2026 layoff, and quotes Halyk on revenue and sourcing.
A profile by Raymond Tomlin on a Vancouver politics blog describing Halyk's decade in Park Board commercial services and the Kitsilano Pool partnership, and setting out a platform of fiscal responsibility with community access. The piece endorses Halyk, so it is commentary rather than neutral reporting.
Sources checked September 22, 2026. Official records establish decisions; campaign material establishes stated positions; reporting adds investigation and context. None alone establishes every claim.
The Vancouver Sun article was read through the Yahoo News Canada syndication because the Sun's own page was not opened. The exact start year of the twelve year Park Board role is not stated in any source opened here. Daily Hive attributes the layoff to budget cuts made by the Sim administration while the City told the Sun the decision was about reducing costs and not performance; no City document setting out the decision was opened. Whether Halyk has filed any complaint or claim over the end of the employment is unestablished. CBC News pages return HTTP 403 to automated requests and were not opened.
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. 4 stated positions and 3 background facts recorded here, each checked against a quotation from that page.
Checks still to do: Verify employment dates and compare any claimed financial improvements with public accounts.
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
Twelve years, ending January 2026
Manager of food and beverage operations, Vancouver Park Board
The Vancouver Sun reported Halyk held this role for 12 years within the Park Board's commercial services area, and that the position ended in January 2026. Over that period Halyk led the change in how park concessions were run.
Owner of a catering company and partner in a Victoria restaurant
The campaign page says Halyk owned and operated a large catering company and was a partner in Saveur in Victoria. Daily Hive also describes Halyk as a trained chef and hospitality entrepreneur who owned a catering and special events company.
