Colleen Hardwick says Vancouver's infrastructure fell behind housing and vows to change course
The TEAM for a Livable Vancouver mayoral candidate told Daily Hive on Oct. 7 that the city prioritized developer fees over basic services starting in 2008 and outlined her plan to reverse that.
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Colleen Hardwick, the TEAM for a Livable Vancouver candidate for mayor, told Daily Hive on Oct. 7 that Vancouver has been building housing since 2008 without keeping the roads, sewers, schools, and community centres to support it, and that she would reverse that approach if elected on Oct. 17.
Hardwick uses the word "livability" to name this balance between housing and infrastructure. She told Daily Hive that the city shifted its approach in 2008 and began funding public services through developer contributions: fees charged on new developments. Her argument is that this gave the city an incentive to promote rezoning, because more rezoning produced more fees.
"It set a business model," she told Daily Hive, "where they started seeking developer contributions by promoting rezoning."
Hardwick says the result was higher land values and more speculation, not lower housing costs. She told Daily Hive that adding supply through rezoning inflated land prices rather than bringing them down.
Neighbourhood planning and a ward system
Hardwick's platform, as described to Daily Hive, calls for returning planning decisions to the neighbourhood level. She described the city's current approach under its Official Development Plan as "centralized, top-down, autocratic control."
She also said she would introduce a ward system, which would divide Vancouver into geographic areas and give each one its own council seat. Vancouver currently elects all councillors at large. Hardwick told Daily Hive she wants each neighbourhood to have direct representation at City Hall.
How she would build affordable housing
Hardwick said the city should use land it already owns to build affordable housing, cut the time and cost of the permitting process, and work with the federal and provincial governments to secure funding. She also said protecting existing affordable rental housing must be a priority.
She told Daily Hive that the city should "start with the evidence" when defining affordable housing rather than repeating slogans. She said Vancouver's economy depends too much on real estate and property development, and that this narrows what the city can offer to people who want to move here.
Her record and the other candidates
This is Hardwick's second run for the mayor's seat. She served as a city councillor from 2018 to 2022, then ran for mayor in 2022 and placed third behind Ken Sim, who won the race, and incumbent Kennedy Stewart.
She is running against Ken Sim of ABC Vancouver, Pete Fry of the Green Party of Vancouver, Rebecca Bligh of Vote Vancouver, and Kareem Allam of the Vancouver Liberals.
Advance voting continues on Oct. 10 and Oct. 13, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Visit /where-to-vote for a list of locations. Election day is Oct. 17.
Questions this story answers
What does Colleen Hardwick mean by 'livability'?
Hardwick uses the term to describe the balance between housing and the infrastructure that supports it: roads, sewers, schools, community centres, and economic infrastructure. She told Daily Hive on Oct. 7 that Vancouver has been building housing without keeping pace with those services, and that this imbalance is the central problem she would address as mayor.
When does Hardwick say things started to go wrong in Vancouver?
Hardwick told Daily Hive the problem began in 2008, when Vancouver began relying heavily on developer contributions, which are fees charged on new developments to fund infrastructure and community services. She says this created a system where the city promoted more rezoning in order to collect more fees, which she argues raised land values and encouraged land speculation rather than making housing more affordable.
What is Hardwick's plan for affordable housing?
Hardwick told Daily Hive she wants the city to use City-owned land to build affordable housing, reduce the cost and time involved in getting permits, and work with the federal and provincial governments to secure funding. She also said the city should prioritize protecting affordable rental housing that already exists in Vancouver.
What is the ward system and why does Hardwick want it?
A ward system divides a city into geographic areas, and each area elects its own representative to council. Vancouver currently uses an at-large system in which all councillors run city-wide. Hardwick told Daily Hive she wants a ward system so that each neighbourhood has direct representation at City Hall, rather than all councillors representing the city as a whole.
What does Hardwick say about upzoning and density?
Hardwick told Daily Hive that rezoning land to allow greater density, as Vancouver's Official Development Plan and the Broadway Plan do, drives up land values and encourages speculation. She argues this makes housing less affordable, not more, and says the city should stop relying on density increases as a tool for generating developer fees.
Has Hardwick run for mayor before?
Yes. Hardwick served as a Vancouver city councillor from 2018 to 2022, and ran for mayor in the 2022 election. She came in third place behind Ken Sim, who won the race, and incumbent Kennedy Stewart. This is her second run for the mayor's seat.
Who are Hardwick's main opponents in the 2026 mayoral race?
Hardwick is running against Ken Sim for ABC Vancouver, Pete Fry for the Green Party of Vancouver, Rebecca Bligh for Vote Vancouver, and Kareem Allam for the Vancouver Liberals, according to Daily Hive's Oct. 7 report.
When and where can Vancouver voters cast a ballot?
Advance voting continues on Oct. 10 and Oct. 13 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. at 59 locations across Vancouver. Election day is Oct. 17, 2026. Vancouver voters will choose one mayor, 10 city councillors, seven park board commissioners, and nine school board trustees. The full list of voting locations is at /where-to-vote.
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