---
title: "What the four elected parties promised on arts and culture"
description: "Pancouver compiled the arts and culture platform commitments of COPE, the Vancouver Greens, OneCity Vancouver, and ABC Vancouver after the October 17 vote."
canonical_url: "https://voche.me/news/arts-culture-promises-elected-council-october-19"
last_updated: "2026-10-19T17:57:09.065Z"
---

Four parties won seats on Vancouver city council in the October 17 election: the Vancouver Greens, the Coalition of Progressive Electors, OneCity Vancouver, and ABC Vancouver. On October 18, Pancouver, a Vancouver media outlet covering arts and culture, published a summary of what each party had committed to in its platform on arts funding and cultural spaces.

The article draws from each party's own published platform, as each party wrote it on its own website.

## What COPE promised

COPE elected four councillors: [Sean Orr](/candidates/sean-orr), [Chloe Leslie](/candidates/chloe-leslie), [Devyani Singh](/candidates/devyani-singh), and [Solomon Yi-Kieran](/candidates/solomon-yi-kieran). According to Pancouver, the party's platform commits to boosting operating grants for Vancouver's arts sector and then tying those grants to inflation. COPE also committed to reducing pressure on artist spaces through a Cultural Land Trust, creating a city strategy for arts and cultural spaces that would use city-owned land for galleries, venues, theatres, and rehearsal spaces, and ending what the party described as a crackdown on DIY arts venues. The party said it would explore creating a municipal arts endowment or a dedicated tax revenue stream for long-term arts funding stability.

## What the Vancouver Greens promised

The Vancouver Greens elected [Pete Fry](/candidates/pete-fry) as mayor and four councillors: [Annette Reilly](/candidates/annette-reilly), [Stephanie Smith](/candidates/stephanie-smith), [Camil Dumont](/candidates/camil-dumont), and [Bridget Burns](/candidates/bridget-burns). Pancouver reports that the party's platform listed one arts item: supporting festivals, gathering spaces, and cultural development for cultural communities.

## What OneCity Vancouver promised

OneCity Vancouver re-elected incumbent councillor [Lucy Maloney](/candidates/lucy-maloney). Its platform, as compiled by Pancouver, includes creating an independent arts council governed by a board that would distribute grants through peer assessment, with council setting the overall funding but not choosing the specific projects. The party also committed to a Cultural Space Security Program that would track spaces being lost, and promised to simplify rules for street performers. OneCity's platform proposes a new small venue licence category with risk-based safety requirements and a compliance-first approach for arts venues.

## What ABC Vancouver promised

ABC Vancouver re-elected incumbent councillor [Mike Klassen](/candidates/mike-klassen). According to Pancouver, the party's platform listed one arts item: a new era of cooperation between the City and major events, along with a new funding model.

## What comes next

Voters who want to track whether these arts commitments become council votes can follow each elected person at [/tracker](/tracker), where this site records promises and the decisions that follow.

## Sitemap

See the full [sitemap](/sitemap.md) for all pages.