COPE elected all four council candidates on Oct. 17, Orr received most votes of any councillor
COPE's campaign manager and newly elected Councillor Sean Orr spoke with Daily Hive about how the party won all four of its council seats and joined a left-progressive majority on Vancouver City Council.
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COPE Vancouver elected all four of its council candidates on Oct. 17, and the party's campaign manager and newly elected Councillor Sean Orr spoke with Daily Hive on Oct. 26 about how they did it.
Sean Orr, Chloe Leslie, Solomon Yi-Kieran, and Devyani Singh will all sit on the new Vancouver City Council. Daily Hive reported that Orr received over 83,000 votes, the most votes a Vancouver city councillor has ever received. Joining the Vancouver Greens and OneCity, COPE's four councillors form part of a left-progressive majority on the new council.
"It's been great to see us unabashedly be socialist and stick to our values and campaign on those values. And that resonated with people," Orr told Daily Hive.
The progressive coalition
Before the election, COPE, the Vancouver Greens, and OneCity agreed to limit the number of candidates they ran, to avoid splitting votes among left-leaning voters. All three parties had mayoral candidates at the start of the campaign. COPE's mayoral candidate, Stephanie Allen, withdrew from the mayor's race as part of that arrangement and supported COPE's council campaign instead. Daily Hive reported that Allen remains involved with the party.
Volunteers and social media
COPE campaign manager Shawn Vulliez told Daily Hive that between 1,300 and 1,400 people volunteered at least once for the campaign, including canvassing, door-knocking, and delivering signs. He said the party began building its base in 2024 through activities including bi-weekly pub nights.
Vulliez said COPE built momentum on social media with candidate-led videos on issues the candidates cared about. He said one video, in which Orr looked into ABC Vancouver campaign signs placed at vacant properties, received over 250,000 views across platforms.
COPE's central slogan, "Evict Ken Sim," spread through the city on buttons and stickers. Vulliez told Daily Hive they gave out between 15,000 and 20,000 of the buttons over two years.
What the new councillors will do
Orr told Daily Hive he feels a "weight" that comes with the result and that he has to represent the entire city, not only the neighbourhoods where COPE ran strongest. He said his council work before the election included motions on a low-income transit pass, on raising the empty homes tax, and on shifting more of the property tax burden to higher-valued properties and non-resident investors.
You can see the profiles and promise trackers for all four COPE councillors on voche.me: Sean Orr, Chloe Leslie, Solomon Yi-Kieran, and Devyani Singh. The full election results are at /results.
Questions this story answers
Did COPE win all its council seats in the Oct. 17 Vancouver election?
Yes. Daily Hive reported on Oct. 26 that COPE's full slate was elected on Oct. 17. The four COPE councillors are Sean Orr, Chloe Leslie, Solomon Yi-Kieran, and Devyani Singh. Together with the Vancouver Greens and OneCity, they form a left-progressive majority on Vancouver City Council.
How many votes did Sean Orr receive?
Daily Hive reported that Sean Orr received over 83,000 votes, which it described as the most votes a Vancouver city councillor has ever received. Orr told the outlet he feels a weight that comes with the result and that he has to represent the entire city.
Who is Shawn Vulliez?
Shawn Vulliez is COPE's campaign manager. He spoke with Daily Hive on Oct. 26 about the party's strategy, including its use of social media, its volunteer base of 1,300 to 1,400 people, and the decision by COPE, the Greens, and OneCity to limit the number of candidates they ran.
Why did COPE, the Greens, and OneCity run fewer candidates than they could have?
Daily Hive reported that the three parties agreed before the election to limit the number of candidates they ran to avoid splitting votes among left-leaning voters. COPE had a mayoral candidate, Stephanie Allen, who withdrew from the mayor's race before voting day as part of that arrangement. Allen remained involved in COPE's council campaign after withdrawing.
How many volunteers did COPE have?
Shawn Vulliez told Daily Hive that between 1,300 and 1,400 volunteers did at least one task for COPE during the campaign, including canvassing, door-knocking, and delivering signs. He said COPE built its volunteer base starting in 2024, including through bi-weekly pub nights.
What was COPE's main campaign slogan?
COPE's main slogan was 'Evict Ken Sim.' Vulliez told Daily Hive that COPE gave out between 15,000 and 20,000 of the slogan's buttons over two years, and that the slogan prompted a response from ABC Vancouver's Mayor Ken Sim in a social media video published on Sept. 23.
What social media content did COPE produce during the campaign?
Vulliez told Daily Hive that one of COPE's most-viewed pieces was a video in which Sean Orr looked into ABC Vancouver campaign signs appearing at vacant properties. Vulliez said the video received over 250,000 views across platforms. He said COPE's videos were led by its candidates, talking about issues they cared about.
Where can I see the full composition of the new Vancouver City Council?
The full results of the Oct. 17 Vancouver election, including every councillor and board member elected, are on voche.me at /results. Each elected member also has a profile page on voche.me where you can see their tracker, promises, and voting record as the term proceeds.
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