---
title: "Former Progressive Politicians Explain Why They Endorsed Bligh for Vancouver Mayor"
description: "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."
canonical_url: "https://voche.me/news/bligh-progressive-endorsers-tyee-october-12"
last_updated: "2026-10-12T05:57:28.439Z"
---

Three former politicians with ties to progressive parties in British Columbia have endorsed [Rebecca Bligh](/candidates/rebecca-bligh) for Vancouver mayor, and The Tyee reported on October 12 why they made that choice over [Pete Fry](/candidates/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](/candidates/ken-sim). A Leger poll showed Fry at 23 per cent and Sim at 19 per cent, with Bligh, [Kareem Allam](/candidates/kareem-allam), and [Colleen Hardwick](/candidates/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](/polls).

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](/where-to-vote).

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