---
title: "Civic parties promise 50-metre pool for Vancouver Aquatic Centre rebuild"
description: "Three parties running in the October 17 election are now pledging to reverse the park board's 25-metre pool plan for the Vancouver Aquatic Centre. The Green Party proposes a 50-metre pool at a different site."
canonical_url: "https://voche.me/news/aquatic-centre-50-metre-pool-platform-october-1"
last_updated: "2026-10-10T04:01:15.010Z"
---

Three civic parties running in Vancouver's October 17 election are now promising to reverse the park board's plan to build a 25-metre pool in the Vancouver Aquatic Centre rebuild, CBC reported on October 1, 2026. The facility is scheduled to close for 10 months starting in November.

TEAM for a Livable Vancouver, ABC Vancouver, and the Vancouver Liberals have each committed to a 50-metre competition pool in the replacement building. The Green Party of Vancouver will build a new 50-metre pool at a separate East Vancouver location and keep the 25-metre plan for the aquatic centre site.

## What each party says

[Colleen Hardwick](/candidates/colleen-hardwick), TEAM's mayoral candidate, was the first to promise a 50-metre pool for the rebuild, CBC reported. She told CBC that [Ken Sim](/candidates/ken-sim) and ABC had reversed course as a political tactic and called the change cynical and typical of ABC's behaviour.

ABC's election platform states it will "rebuild the Vancouver Aquatic Centre with a 50-metre pool," according to CBC. David Grewal, an ABC city council candidate, told CBC that a 50-metre pool can be built within the site's existing footprint, despite earlier statements from park board staff saying it could not.

[Kareem Allam](/candidates/kareem-allam), the Vancouver Liberals' mayoral candidate, told CBC he is pledging to "scrap the 25-metre plan day one." Allam also questioned the $175 million price tag for the project. "We've got a problem related to how we're generally building things in this city," he said. These are Allam's stated commitments, not current park board policy.

The Green Party's position, as reported by CBC, is to leave the aquatic centre with a 25-metre pool and build a separate 50-metre pool in East Vancouver, either at Hastings Community Centre or Kensington Community Centre. Tom Digby, a Green Party park board candidate seeking re-election, told CBC he maintains the larger pool cannot fit at the aquatic centre site: "You can't put a large pizza inside a medium box. It just doesn't work."

## What the current plan is

Park board staff had previously told residents that a modern 50-metre pool could not fit in the aquatic centre's current footprint, a constraint that shaped the 25-metre design. CBC reported that Grewal disputes this.

The aquatic centre swimming pool is scheduled to close for 10 months starting in November 2026, CBC reported. The facility has been closed to the public since late June 2026. At least one swim club has had to find other locations for its members. The total project budget, as reported by CBC, stands at $175 million.

Susan Boutwood, a pool patron CBC identified as one of many people who have been opposing the smaller pool plan, told CBC the parties' reversal was difficult to understand: "So either they were lying then, or they're lying now."

Voters who want to compare parties on park board issues can read candidate profiles at [/candidates/tom-digby](/candidates/tom-digby) and [/candidates/david-grewal](/candidates/david-grewal), and find voting information at [/where-to-vote](/where-to-vote).

## Sitemap

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