---
title: "Canada Pulse poll finds 62% of Vancouver residents want a new mayor, but challengers split the change vote"
description: "A Canada Pulse Insights poll conducted for CityNews and OMNI TV finds most Vancouver residents want a new mayor, but with support divided among the challengers, Ken Sim could win a second term."
canonical_url: "https://voche.me/news/canada-pulse-change-vote-poll-october-16"
last_updated: "2026-10-17T19:03:18.415Z"
---

A Canada Pulse Insights poll commissioned by CityNews and OMNI TV finds that 62 per cent of Vancouver residents want a new mayor, but with the alternative vote divided among three challengers, incumbent Ken Sim could win a second term. CityNews published the results Friday morning, the day before voting day.

Among decided voters, Green Party candidate [Pete Fry](/candidates/pete-fry) leads with 28 per cent support and Sim holds 27 per cent, according to the poll. That gap falls within the margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percentage points.

[Ken Sim](/candidates/ken-sim) sits at 38 per cent on the direct question of whether he deserves re-election, while 62 per cent say it is time for a change.

**The change vote is divided**

Among the 62 per cent who want a new mayor, [Fry](/candidates/pete-fry) leads with 34 per cent of that group. [Kareem Allam](/candidates/kareem-allam) of the Vancouver Liberals and [Colleen Hardwick](/candidates/colleen-hardwick) of TEAM for a Livable Vancouver each hold 16 per cent of the change-voter pool. Twelve per cent of those who want a new mayor remain undecided.

[Rebecca Bligh](/candidates/rebecca-bligh) of Vote Vancouver holds 7 per cent among all decided voters, and [Muhammad Ahmad](/candidates/muhammad-ahmad) of Bright Future Vancouver holds 3 per cent.

Canada Pulse Insights CEO John Wright told CityNews that a divided field works against voters who want change. "Whenever you deal with a fractured field, you're not going to get a call for change executed by one or two people. You're going to get it distributed amongst a group of others," Wright said.

**What residents think of the city's direction**

The poll found that 53 per cent of Vancouver residents say the city is headed in the wrong direction, compared with 47 per cent who say it is on the right track. Residents were split equally on Sim's job performance, with half rating it positively and half rating it negatively.

Wright told CityNews that dissatisfaction with Sim extends to some of his own supporters. "Most people believe that the mayor is out of touch with city council or out of touch with Vancouver citizens, and that's even for a good number of his own supporters," Wright said.

Ten per cent of voters say they are still undecided heading into election day.

**The poll**

Canada Pulse Insights conducted the survey for CityNews and OMNI TV. The poll covered 500 Vancouver adults from September 28 to October 6, 2026. The margin of error is plus or minus 4.4 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

You can compare the major polls in this race at [/polls](/polls). Voting day is Saturday, October 17. Polling stations are open across Vancouver.

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