Election newsReported

Former Progressive Politicians Explain Why They Endorsed Bligh for Vancouver Mayor

Mike Harcourt, Peter Ladner, and Geoff Meggs say they backed Rebecca Bligh over Pete Fry based on her council record and experience leading a national federation of cities.

By voche.me editorsPublished Sunday, October 11, 2026 at 11:05 pm PT3 min read · 2 sources

Reported. A news outlet found this. voche.me names the outlet and links its report. Read the original report on thetyee.ca.

Pete Fry on the left and Rebecca Bligh on the right, both mayoral candidates for Vancouver 2026 — Pete Fry photo for The Tyee by Katie Hyslop. Rebecca Bligh photo submitted.

Three former politicians with ties to progressive parties in British Columbia have endorsed Rebecca Bligh for Vancouver mayor, and The Tyee reported on October 12 why they made that choice over Pete Fry, the candidate backed by most of the city's left-leaning parties.

Mike Harcourt, who served as both Vancouver mayor and BC premier under the NDP, signed the endorsement letter alongside Peter Ladner, a former Non-Partisan Association city councillor who ran for mayor, and Geoff Meggs, a former Vision Vancouver city councillor who later served as chief of staff to BC NDP premier John Horgan, The Tyee reported.

The three told The Tyee they chose Bligh based on her eight years of experience on Vancouver city council and her two-year stint as president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, which ended in June 2026. They also said Bligh's gender was a factor in their decision.

Why they did not back Fry

Fry has been on city council since 2018, the same year Bligh was first elected. But the endorsers raised questions about his abstention record. The Tyee reported that Fry has abstained from 120 votes since his initial election in 2018, with 80 of those abstentions coming since the October 2022 election. Bligh has abstained from 78 votes since 2018, with 31 of those in the past four-year term.

Meggs told The Tyee that the progressive parties made a mistake by pulling back from running their own mayoral candidate and consolidating support behind Fry.

Fry's response

Fry told The Tyee by text that he was focusing on his own campaign and that he did not have the same relationships with Harcourt, Meggs, and Ladner that Bligh has. Fry has received an endorsement from the Vancouver and District Labour Council, which The Tyee reports represents 90 unions and their members, including workers employed by the City of Vancouver.

Where the race stands

The Tyee cites two polls showing the mayor's race is mainly between Fry and incumbent Ken Sim. A Leger poll showed Fry at 23 per cent and Sim at 19 per cent, with Bligh, Kareem Allam, and Colleen Hardwick each around 5 to 6 per cent. A Canada Pulse poll put Fry at 28 per cent and Sim at 27 per cent, with Allam at 19 per cent, Hardwick at 13 per cent, and Bligh at 7 per cent. Full poll details are on the polls page.

The group also endorsed a slate of council candidates: Vote Vancouver's Rebecca Hasdell, John Boychuk, Steve Jedreicich, and Geoff Teoli; OneCity Vancouver's Iona Bonamis, Frances Bula, Jarrett Hagglund, and Lucy Maloney; and the Vancouver Liberals' Moira Stilwell.

For voters

Election day is October 17, 2026. Advance voting continues through October 13, and mail ballots must be received by that date. Voters can see voting place locations at /where-to-vote.

Questions this story answers

Who endorsed Rebecca Bligh for Vancouver mayor?

According to The Tyee, the endorsement letter was signed by Mike Harcourt, who served as both Vancouver mayor and BC premier under the NDP; Peter Ladner, a former Non-Partisan Association city councillor who ran for mayor; and Geoff Meggs, a former Vision Vancouver city councillor who later served as chief of staff to BC premier John Horgan. The three said they backed Bligh based on her council record and her experience as president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.

Why did Harcourt, Ladner, and Meggs back Bligh over Pete Fry?

The Tyee reports that the three cited Bligh's eight years of experience on Vancouver city council and her two-year stint as president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, which ended in June 2026. They also told The Tyee that Bligh's gender was a factor in their decision. They raised questions about Fry's abstention record on council votes, noting Fry has abstained from 120 votes since he was first elected in 2018, with 80 of those abstentions coming since the October 2022 election.

What is Pete Fry's response to the endorsement?

Fry told The Tyee by text message that he was focusing on his own campaign and that he did not have the same relationships with Harcourt, Meggs, and Ladner that Bligh has. Fry has received an endorsement from the Vancouver and District Labour Council, which represents 90 unions and their members, including workers employed by the City of Vancouver.

How many votes has Rebecca Bligh abstained from on council?

The Tyee reports that Bligh has abstained from 78 votes since 2018, with 31 of those abstentions coming over the past four-year council term. For comparison, Fry has abstained from 120 votes since 2018, with 80 of those since the October 2022 election. The endorsers cited Fry's abstention count as one reason they preferred Bligh.

What do recent polls show about the Vancouver mayor race?

The Tyee cites two recent polls. A Leger poll showed Fry at 23 per cent and Ken Sim at 19 per cent, with Bligh, Kareem Allam, and Colleen Hardwick each around 5 to 6 per cent. A Canada Pulse poll showed Fry at 28 per cent and Sim at 27 per cent, with Allam at 19 per cent, Hardwick at 13 per cent, and Bligh at 7 per cent. The voche.me polls page has the full numbers for both surveys.

Which council candidates did the endorsers back alongside Bligh?

The Tyee reports the group also endorsed a slate of council candidates: Vote Vancouver's Rebecca Hasdell, John Boychuk, Steve Jedreicich, and Geoff Teoli; OneCity Vancouver's Iona Bonamis, Frances Bula, Jarrett Hagglund, and Lucy Maloney; and the Vancouver Liberals' Moira Stilwell. Meggs told The Tyee he personally supports OneCity's Caitlin Stockwell for council but reached a compromise with Ladner and Harcourt on the list.

Why are progressive politicians backing Bligh when Fry was positioned as the main progressive candidate?

The Tyee explains that OneCity and COPE, two other progressive parties, pulled their mayoral candidates before the campaign in order to avoid splitting the vote and giving incumbent Mayor Ken Sim a second term. That left Fry as the candidate those parties rallied behind. The endorsers told The Tyee they disagreed with that strategy and preferred Bligh's record. Meggs told The Tyee he thought it was a mistake for OneCity and others to pull back from running their own candidate.

When is election day for Vancouver's 2026 municipal election?

Election day is October 17, 2026. Advance voting continues through October 13 at multiple locations across the city. Mail ballots must be received by the evening of October 17. Voters can find their nearest voting place and hours at voche.me/where-to-vote.