COPE Alleges ABC Supporter Offered Food to Seniors at Chinatown Voting Shuttle

The Coalition of Progressive Electors alleges that Catherine Kwan, property manager of Sun Wah Centre mall in Chinatown, distributed flyers urging tenants to vote ABC Vancouver and organized a seniors voting shuttle on October 7 that offered refreshments to people who wore 'I voted' stickers. COPE says those actions together broke section 123 of the Vancouver Charter, which prohibits offering inducements such as food or entertainment to encourage people to vote for a specific candidate.

Kwan told The Tyee in an email that her flyer to tenants urging them to support Mayor Ken Sim and ABC represented her personal views and was separate from the seniors shuttle, which she says Sun Wah Centre organized as non-partisan community outreach. She said the centre did not make transportation or refreshments conditional on supporting any party. After being contacted by the City of Vancouver Elections Office, she says she immediately covered up the part of the poster that mentioned food.

COPE cites section 123 of the Vancouver Charter, which makes it an offence to offer an inducement, such as money, gifts, food, or entertainment, to a person to vote, not to vote, or to vote for or against a particular candidate. The City's Chief Election Officer, Jason Twa, confirmed to The Tyee that this rule exists, but said the City does not have jurisdiction to prosecute Vancouver Charter offences and that enforcement falls to the province.

According to The Tyee, ABC Vancouver did not respond to requests for comment on the allegations. The article notes that Sun Wah Centre's Mandarin-language flyer, which The Tyee had independently translated, said the centre urged tenants to vote ABC for re-election. The party's position on the complaint, the shuttle, and the flyers was not available at the time The Tyee published its report.

COPE city council candidate Solomon Yi-Kieran went to Sun Wah Centre on October 8 and saw seniors boarding a black Mercedes Sprinter van for the voting shuttle. Yi-Kieran tried to hand out Chinese-language flyers about COPE's positions. Yi-Kieran told The Tyee that volunteers organizing the shuttle took the COPE flyers from seniors before they could read them. Kwan disputes this and says Yi-Kieran frightened seniors and caused them to give up their right to vote.

The Tyee obtained a Mandarin-language version of Kwan's tenant flyer and had it confirmed by an independent translator. That translation reads: 'Help. Behind in the polls by 15 per cent. Sun Wah Centre urges everyone to vote ABC for re-election.' The English version carried a disclaimer that the contents were Kwan's personal perspective and did not represent the centre's position.

An Elections BC spokesperson told The Tyee that Elections BC does not have a role in regulating code-of-conduct issues for local governments and said questions about local elections should go to the local jurisdiction directly. The City's Chief Election Officer confirmed that prosecuting Vancouver Charter offences falls to the province.

Voting day in Vancouver's municipal election is Saturday, October 17, 2026. Advance voting continues at locations across the city through October 15. You can find the full list of advance polling stations and their hours at the City of Vancouver's website, or visit voche.me's where-to-vote page.

If someone offers you food, money, or another reward in connection with your vote during advance voting, that is against the rules under section 123 of the Vancouver Charter. You can contact the City of Vancouver Elections Office or the provincial government. The City's Chief Election Officer confirmed that prosecuting Charter offences falls to the province, not the City.