--- title: "Suzie Mah | School Board | Vancouver election 2026 | voche.me" canonical_url: "https://voche.me/candidates/suzie-mah" last_updated: "2026-09-23T06:07:55.740Z" meta: description: "Suzie Mah, ballot number 304 for School Board in Vancouver, COPE. Profile focus: Trustee decisions and student support." "og:description": "Suzie Mah, ballot number 304 for School Board in Vancouver, COPE. Profile focus: Trustee decisions and student support." "og:title": "Suzie Mah | School Board | Vancouver election 2026" "twitter:description": "Suzie Mah, ballot number 304 for School Board in Vancouver, COPE. Profile focus: Trustee decisions and student support." "twitter:title": "Suzie Mah | School Board | Vancouver election 2026" --- School Board · Vancouver 2026 # Suzie Mah Candidate for the Vancouver School Board. Suzie Mah, ballot number 304 for School Board in Vancouver, COPE. Profile focus: Trustee decisions and student support. Explore the record Public schedule Researched by voche.me · Not a campaign-authored page COPE2026 ![Suzie Mah, published by the COPE campaign.](https://voche.me/images/candidates/suzie-mah-640.webp) *Suzie MahSchool BoardBallot no.304* [Image: COPE campaign](https://www.votecope.ca/schools) Candidate research / September 22, 2026 This record covers Suzie Mah, ballot number 304, a sitting Vancouver School Board trustee elected with COPE in 2022 and seeking re election on October 17, 2026. Mah has the fullest public record of the six candidates in this batch, including several board votes reported by CBC and the Vancouver Sun. **9**Commitments **5**Programs **3**News articles **13**Sources Public schedule / Through election day ## Where can you hear Suzie Mah? 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. - [Election dates and voting information](https://vancouver.ca/your-government/2026-election.aspx)Official record · City of Vancouver - [Where to vote](https://vancouver.ca/election/2026/where-to-vote.aspx)Official record · City of Vancouver
View every date through Oct 17 1. Sep 22No appearance confirmed 2. Sep 23No appearance confirmed 3. Sep 24No appearance confirmed 4. Sep 25No appearance confirmed 5. Sep 26No appearance confirmed 6. Sep 27No appearance confirmed 7. Sep 28Event; attendance unconfirmed 8. Sep 29No appearance confirmed 9. Sep 30No appearance confirmed 10. Oct 1No appearance confirmed 11. Oct 2No appearance confirmed 12. Oct 3Voting day 13. Oct 4No appearance confirmed 14. Oct 5No appearance confirmed 15. Oct 6No appearance confirmed 16. Oct 7Voting day 17. Oct 8No appearance confirmed 18. Oct 9No appearance confirmed 19. Oct 10Voting day 20. Oct 11No appearance confirmed 21. Oct 12No appearance confirmed 22. Oct 13Voting day 23. Oct 14No appearance confirmed 24. Oct 15No appearance confirmed 25. Oct 16No appearance confirmed 26. Oct 17Voting day
### Public forums and announcements Attendance is identified for each event. Unconfirmed listings are not confirmed candidate appearances. Sep 286 to 9 pm Public forumAttendance unconfirmed #### Great East End Town Hall, part two: school board and park board Britannia Community Centre, Gym D, Vancouver **The listing names the two offices invited rather than individual candidates, and the COPE website lists no campaign events.** The second part of a town hall series for the 2026 Vancouver election, covering school board and park board candidates. Listed on the CityHallWatch election portal. - [2026 Vancouver civic election portal, including the list of all candidates meetings](https://cityhallwatch.wordpress.com/election-2022/2026-civic-election/)Event listing · CityHallWatch ### Voting dates - Oct 3Advance voting - Oct 7Advance voting - Oct 10Advance voting - Oct 13Advance voting - Oct 17Election day 8 am to 8 pm at official Vancouver voting places. These dates apply to every voter and are not candidate appearances. [Find your voting place](https://voche.me/where-to-vote) - [Election dates and voting information](https://vancouver.ca/your-government/2026-election.aspx)Official record · City of Vancouver - [Where to vote](https://vancouver.ca/election/2026/where-to-vote.aspx)Official record · City of Vancouver 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 Suzie Mah Suzie Mah appears on the City of Vancouver's final 2026 candidate list for School Board, with ballot number 304. The City records the affiliation as COPE. The official roster for the current term lists Suzie Mah as a Vancouver School Board trustee. That is a separate office from the one on this 2026 ballot entry. The party page says Mah is a retired teacher and union organizer with more than 30 years of work, and has taught every grade from Kindergarten to Grade 12. The party page says Mah has been COPE's Vancouver School Board trustee since 2022. The COPE school board page says Mah is a retired educator and union organiser with more than thirty years of experience, having taught from kindergarten through grade 12 and also taught adult learners outside the regular school system. The Vancouver Sun described Mah as a retired teacher and COPE trustee in a July 2025 report on Vancouver School Board property. Mah was elected as a Vancouver school trustee in October 2022 with 42,379 votes, or 24.71 percent, taking the fourth of the nine seats. COPE members chose Mah as part of the party's 2026 school board slate on May 12, 2026, alongside Derrick O'Keefe, Melanie Cheng and Gwen Giesbrecht. Daily Hive lists Mah at ballot position 304 as a COPE candidate for school trustee. 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. Read the sources Promises / Commitments and evidence ## Commitments and the available evidence. 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 · School fundingIn progress ### Stop cuts to librarians, inclusive education teachers and food programmes Mah put six motions to a Vancouver School Board special meeting on April 20, 2026 seeking to reverse proposed budget cuts, covering supervision aide hours, student support staffing, on call coverage for resource teachers from the first day of absence, a teacher of the visually impaired and a hospital homebound teacher, a district teacher librarian, and full designation of the City of Vancouver food grant.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
The list of six motions comes from a COPE release. COPE is Mah's own party, so this records what was proposed rather than what the board decided. No report was found showing how the board voted on each motion.
What still needs checking
Which of the six motions the board passed, and whether the positions were restored in the final budget.
- [Suzie Mah is fighting to stop cuts to public school librarians, inclusive education teachers, and food programs](https://www.votecope.ca/news/suzie-mah-is-fighting-to-stop-cuts-to-public-school-librarians-inclusive-education-teachers-and-food-programs)Campaign · COPE Vancouver 2026 · School fundingCampaign pledge ### Move money from administration to classrooms In the same April 2026 statement Mah said that closing gaps in inclusive education funding means reallocating money out of administrative and managerial budgets.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
The statement is published by COPE. No dollar figure and no specific administrative line were named.
What still needs checking
How much money Mah would move and out of which budget lines.
- [Suzie Mah is fighting to stop cuts to public school librarians, inclusive education teachers, and food programs](https://www.votecope.ca/news/suzie-mah-is-fighting-to-stop-cuts-to-public-school-librarians-inclusive-education-teachers-and-food-programs)Campaign · COPE Vancouver 2026 · Public landCampaign pledge ### Keep school property in public hands COPE's school board page says its candidates oppose selling or leasing school land, and Mah has voted against a long term lease of school property and has focused board work on the district's leases.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
The position statement comes from the COPE website. The record of voting against the Sir Sandford Fleming lease and the focus on leases come from CBC and Vancouver Sun reports, which are independent of the party.
What still needs checking
Whether Mah would seek to change or end leases already signed.
- [COPE school board team page](https://www.votecope.ca/schools)Campaign · COPE Vancouver - [Vancouver developer pays $8.5M for 99-year lease of school property](https://ca.news.yahoo.com/vancouver-developer-pays-8-5m-211513730.html)Reporting · CBC - [Exclusive: Vancouver school board owns 223 properties worth $9.5 billion](https://ca.news.yahoo.com/exclusive-vancouver-school-board-owns-130006204.html)Reporting · The Vancouver Sun 2026 · Food securityCampaign pledge ### Universal school meals COPE's school board page says its candidates support universal meal programmes in Vancouver schools, and Mah's April 2026 motions included full designation of the City of Vancouver food grant.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
The universal meals position is COPE's. The food grant motion is recorded on the COPE site as Mah's own. No independent report on the outcome was found. A CityHallWatch review published on September 8, 2026 recorded that COPE had released no dedicated 2026 platform and was still using its 2025 by election platform, which has no school section.
What still needs checking
What a universal meal programme would cost the district each year.
- [COPE school board team page](https://www.votecope.ca/schools)Campaign · COPE Vancouver - [Suzie Mah is fighting to stop cuts to public school librarians, inclusive education teachers, and food programs](https://www.votecope.ca/news/suzie-mah-is-fighting-to-stop-cuts-to-public-school-librarians-inclusive-education-teachers-and-food-programs)Campaign · COPE Vancouver - [Election 2026, getting to know the parties: COPE](https://cityhallwatch.wordpress.com/2026/09/08/election2026-party-series-cope/)Reporting · CityHallWatch 2026 · TransitCampaign pledge ### Free transit for teenagers The COPE school board page says Mah has pushed for free transit access for teenagers.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
This claim appears only on the COPE website. No board motion, council record or news report confirming it was found.
What still needs checking
Which board motion or letter this refers to, and what happened to it.
- [COPE school board team page](https://www.votecope.ca/schools)Campaign · COPE Vancouver 2026 · Student safetyCampaign pledge ### Defibrillators in schools The COPE school board page says Mah secured defibrillators in Vancouver schools.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
The claim is COPE's own. What was independently confirmed is narrower: in September 2025 the Vancouver Sun quoted Mah saying the province had rejected a Vancouver School Board request for $250,000 for defibrillators plus $50,000 for maintenance, and that buying them would take money from student services. British Columbia now requires the devices in all schools.
What still needs checking
Which Vancouver School Board motion Mah brought on defibrillators, on what date, and how the board voted.
- [COPE school board team page](https://www.votecope.ca/schools)Campaign · COPE Vancouver - [B.C. orders defibrillators, naloxone in schools, but cash-strapped districts say there's no money to buy them](https://ca.news.yahoo.com/b-c-orders-defibrillators-naloxone-225445810.html)Reporting · The Vancouver Sun Earlier term · GovernanceChanged approach ### Trustee pay should wait for the next board Mah proposed deferring the decision on trustee pay increases to the incoming board and voted against the increases.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
The Vancouver Sun reported on May 29, 2026 that the deferral motion was rejected and that Mah was the only trustee to vote against the new pay policy. The board approved the increases, so this position did not become policy.
What still needs checking
Whether Mah would move to reverse the increases if re elected.
- [Vancouver school trustees vote for pay hikes during budget pressures](https://ca.news.yahoo.com/vancouver-school-trustees-vote-pay-192837115.html)Reporting · The Vancouver Sun 2026 · Education access for every familyCampaign pledge ### Education access for every family The party page says Mah works for a school system where every family can afford to stay in Vancouver and every student gets good learning experiences.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
Taken from the campaign page listed in the sources. No independent confirmation was found.
What still needs checking
What would this cost, who would deliver it, and by when?
- [COPE school board team page](https://www.votecope.ca/schools)Campaign · COPE Vancouver 2026 · Keeping city land in public ownershipCampaign pledge ### Keeping city land in public ownership The party page says Mah has opposed giving city land to private developers.
Evidence & next checks
Evidence reviewed
Taken from the campaign page listed in the sources. No independent confirmation was found.
What still needs checking
What would this cost, who would deliver it, and by when?
- [COPE school board team page](https://www.votecope.ca/schools)Campaign · COPE Vancouver City programs / Scope and delivery ## Policies, budgets & programs 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. Apr 20Proposed ### Six budget motions at a Vancouver School Board special meeting Mah brought six motions aimed at reversing proposed cuts: more supervision aide hours, restoring 3.0 full time equivalent student support staffing, on call cover for resource teachers from the first day of absence, restoring a teacher of the visually impaired and a hospital homebound teacher, restoring a district teacher librarian, and fully designating the City of Vancouver food grant.
Scope, limits and sources The motion list comes from a COPE release, which is Mah's own party. The board's decision on each motion was not found in any independent report.
- [Suzie Mah is fighting to stop cuts to public school librarians, inclusive education teachers, and food programs](https://www.votecope.ca/news/suzie-mah-is-fighting-to-stop-cuts-to-public-school-librarians-inclusive-education-teachers-and-food-programs)Campaign · COPE Vancouver Apr 22Approved ### Vancouver School Board draft budget of $826 million Trustees passed a draft budget of $826 million for 2026 to 2027 on the Monday before this report, with cuts including district teaching and support staff, settlement worker posts, three student support workers at Britannia and David Thompson secondary schools, and a district teacher librarian. The district expected 330 fewer students, about 300 of them international.
Scope, limits and sources CBC quoted Mah calling the reductions small cuts that still harm the students who need help most, and reported Mah's concern that falling international enrolment alone did not explain them. A final budget vote was set for April 29, 2026.
- [Vancouver School Board passes $826M draft budget amid declining international enrolment](https://ca.news.yahoo.com/vancouver-school-board-passes-826m-145154853.html)Reporting · CBC May 29Approved ### New trustee pay policy for the incoming board The board set pay for the board elected in autumn 2026 at $54,100 for the chair, $47,800 for the vice chair and $41,600 for other trustees, up from $40,315, $39,448 and $37,215. Mah was the only trustee to vote against, and a motion to leave the decision to the incoming board was rejected.
Scope, limits and sources Reported by Cheryl Chan for the Vancouver Sun. Mah argued the board had just passed a budget it agreed was underfunded. Vice chair Janet Fraser of the Green Party defended the increases as recognising the time the job takes.
- [Vancouver school trustees vote for pay hikes during budget pressures](https://ca.news.yahoo.com/vancouver-school-trustees-vote-pay-192837115.html)Reporting · The Vancouver Sun Dec 18Approved ### Vote to permanently close Sir Guy Carleton Elementary School Trustees voted 5 to 3 to permanently close Sir Guy Carleton Elementary, empty since a fire in August 2016. Mah voted against, together with Preeti Faridkot and Jennifer Reddy, and had put forward a motion to pause the process.
Scope, limits and sources Reported by Cheryl Chan for the Vancouver Sun. Mah argued that new housing in the Joyce Collingwood area meant the school would be needed for future enrolment. Chair Victoria Jung said the vote in favour reflected valuing students in schools over empty buildings.
- [Vancouver school board votes to permanently close Sir Guy Carleton Elementary School](https://ca.news.yahoo.com/vancouver-school-board-votes-permanently-040629507.html)Reporting · The Vancouver Sun Dec 7Approved ### 99 year lease of land at Sir Sandford Fleming Elementary School The Vancouver School Board agreed a 99 year lease of 0.31 hectares at the southern end of the Sir Sandford Fleming site to Vittori Developments for $8.5 million, for a rental building with shops at ground level and priority access for school district staff. Mah and Jennifer Reddy voted against.
Scope, limits and sources Reported by CBC. Mah called the $8.5 million a small sum against the value of the land, said the lease removes the district's flexibility for 99 years as enrolment grows, and noted that a community basketball court had stood on the site. Vice chair Joshua Zhang of ABC Vancouver supported the deal.
- [Vancouver developer pays $8.5M for 99-year lease of school property](https://ca.news.yahoo.com/vancouver-developer-pays-8-5m-211513730.html)Reporting · CBC 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. No reviewed entries have been added to this section yet. This is a research gap, not a finding about the candidate. Accountability / Findings, disputes and responses ## Controversies & public scrutiny 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. September 4, 2025Reporting The Vancouver Sun ### B.C. orders defibrillators, naloxone in schools, but cash-strapped districts say there's no money to buy them Lori Culbert reported that British Columbia now requires defibrillators and naloxone in schools without extra funding. Mah said the money has to come out of funds that could pay for student services, and that the education ministry had turned down a Vancouver School Board request for $250,000 for the devices and $50,000 for maintenance. - [B.C. orders defibrillators, naloxone in schools, but cash-strapped districts say there's no money to buy them](https://ca.news.yahoo.com/b-c-orders-defibrillators-naloxone-225445810.html)Reporting · The Vancouver Sun July 30, 2025Reporting The Vancouver Sun ### Exclusive: Vancouver school board owns 223 properties worth $9.5 billion Lori Farah reported that the Vancouver School Board owns 223 properties valued above $9.5 billion, making it the second largest property owner in the city after the City of Vancouver. Mah said the main focus of the work since 2022 had been leases and the legal side of land, and that trustees are asked to make property decisions without real estate training. - [Exclusive: Vancouver school board owns 223 properties worth $9.5 billion](https://ca.news.yahoo.com/exclusive-vancouver-school-board-owns-130006204.html)Reporting · The Vancouver Sun September 22, 2026Reporting Daily Hive ### Vancouver's 2026 civic election candidate list is set: All 130 names in ballot order Kenneth Chan set out the full ballot for October 17, 2026. Mah appears at number 304 among 31 school trustee candidates, listed with COPE. - [Vancouver's 2026 civic election candidate list is set: All 130 names in ballot order](https://dailyhive.com/vancouver/vancouver-2026-civic-election-candidates-ballot-order)Reporting · Daily Hive Research / 13 linked sources ## Check the evidence Sources checked September 22, 2026. Official records establish decisions; campaign material establishes stated positions; reporting adds investigation and context. None alone establishes every claim.
Official record 2 sources - Election dates and voting information City of Vancouver - Where to vote City of Vancouver
Campaign 2 sources - COPE school board team page COPE Vancouver - Suzie Mah is fighting to stop cuts to public school librarians, inclusive education teachers, and food programs COPE Vancouver · April 20, 2026
Reporting 8 sources - Vancouver school trustees vote for pay hikes during budget pressures The Vancouver Sun · May 29, 2026 - Vancouver School Board passes $826M draft budget amid declining international enrolment CBC · April 22, 2026 - Vancouver school board votes to permanently close Sir Guy Carleton Elementary School The Vancouver Sun · December 18, 2025 - Vancouver developer pays $8.5M for 99-year lease of school property CBC · December 7, 2024 - B.C. orders defibrillators, naloxone in schools, but cash-strapped districts say there's no money to buy them The Vancouver Sun · September 4, 2025 - Exclusive: Vancouver school board owns 223 properties worth $9.5 billion The Vancouver Sun · July 30, 2025 - Vancouver's 2026 civic election candidate list is set: All 130 names in ballot order Daily Hive · September 22, 2026 - Election 2026, getting to know the parties: COPE CityHallWatch · September 8, 2026
Event listing 1 sources - 2026 Vancouver civic election portal, including the list of all candidates meetings CityHallWatch
Two claims on the COPE website remain unconfirmed: that Mah secured defibrillators in schools, and that Mah pushed for free transit for teenagers. No board motion or news report matching either was found. A Vancouver Sun headline from January 27, 2025 about the board voting for life saving devices in schools appeared in a news index, but the article could not be opened, so it is not used here. The outcome of the six April 2026 budget motions was not established. COPE has published no full 2026 platform; a CityHallWatch review on September 8, 2026 noted the party was still relying on its 2025 by election platform, which has no school section. Vancouver School Board meeting minutes were not opened directly, so every vote above rests on news reporting. Official City of Vancouver election pages return an error to automated requests, so the 2022 vote totals were taken from the Wikipedia results table and the ballot number from Daily Hive. 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. 3 stated positions and 2 background facts recorded here, each checked against a quotation from that page. Checks still to do: Verify Board votes, funding allocations and implementation before crediting outcomes. 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 School Board trustee The official roster lists Suzie Mah in this office during the term that ends with the 2026 election. Individual votes and decisions have not been reviewed for this profile. [Vancouver School Board · current trustees](https://vsb.bc.ca/trustees) About 1990 to about 2020 ### Teacher and union organiser The COPE page says Mah taught for more than thirty years across kindergarten to grade 12 and with adult learners, and worked as a union organiser. The COPE page is the only source for the length of service. [COPE school board team page](https://www.votecope.ca/schools) 04 / Questions & answers ## Questions for the candidate Proposed questions for a future interview. They have not been sent to the candidate, and no answers have been supplied.
Which adopted student-support measures are funded and operating across the district? No response has been submitted.
How would you balance student learning support, facilities and staffing within the district’s available funding? No response has been submitted.
05 / Candidate contributions ## Space for campaign updates ### No campaign updates yet Announcements, event details and messages can be added here, with their source and publication date. No campaign submission has been added. ## Sources & transparency - [City of Vancouver · official school trustee candidate list ](https://vancouver.ca/your-government/2026-candidates-school-trustee.aspx)Checked September 22, 2026 - [COPE · candidate page ](https://www.votecope.ca/schools)Checked September 22, 2026 - [Vancouver School Board · trustee listing ](https://vsb.bc.ca/trustees)Checked September 22, 2026 Missing information does not imply a candidate’s position. [Read our editorial standards.](https://voche.me/about) Campaign contact ## Campaign links & contact. Find the candidate’s website, social accounts and contact information. [COPE · candidate page](https://www.votecope.ca/schools) [COPE official website](https://www.votecope.ca/) ## View more candidates. [All candidate spaces ](https://voche.me/candidates) [School Board**Darren Boidman**](https://voche.me/candidates/darren-boidman) [School Board**Krista Sigurdson**](https://voche.me/candidates/krista-sigurdson) ## Sitemap See the full [sitemap](/sitemap.md) for all pages.