Five mayoral candidates outline positions on safety, housing and business at GVBOT forum

Five mayoral candidates appeared: Ken Sim (ABC Vancouver), Colleen Hardwick (TEAM for a Livable Vancouver), Rebecca Bligh (Vote Vancouver), Kareem Allam (Vancouver Liberals) and Pete Fry (Green Party of Vancouver). CTV News reported the forum on October 2, 2026, two weeks before the October 17 election. Each candidate answered questions on public safety, housing, the economy and city hall operations.

Sim, the incumbent mayor running with ABC Vancouver, defended his administration's record at the October 2 forum. He told the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade that his council funded 100 new police officers, more than 50 mental-health workers, and launched a police task force targeting crime in the Downtown Eastside. He said the time required to approve a business licence had fallen from 16 weeks in 2022 to two days, and that more than 2,000 pages of bylaws had been removed. He said his focus is safer streets, a stronger economy and a city that works.

Hardwick, the TEAM for a Livable Vancouver candidate, told the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade on October 2 that she would repeal Vancouver's official development plan, which council passed in March, within her first 90 days as mayor. She said the plan takes a centralized approach and that neighbourhood planning should have a greater role. She also said she would simplify building and business-permitting processes and establish service standards. She described permitting as having become too complicated.

Bligh, running with Vote Vancouver, said at the October 2 forum that a zero-per-cent property tax increase does not mean the overall financial burden on residents has fallen. She pointed to projected user fee increases and the use of money from the city's property endowment fund. Bligh proposed property taxes indexed to inflation with stable, predictable increases over a four-year term. She also proposed a small-business concierge service that would give business owners one point of contact for city hall departments, permitting and timelines.

Allam, the Vancouver Liberals candidate, said at the October 2 forum that 12 city departments currently have what he called a veto on any project, and proposed consolidating approvals and permitting into a single department. He said he would replace Vancouver's separate building code with the provincial building code to reduce complexity. He also proposed bringing back the Vancouver Economic Commission and pursuing an innovation corridor connected to UBC. He said he would measure his success as mayor by whether Vancouver's average age had become younger.

Fry, the Green Party of Vancouver candidate and a two-term city councillor, said at the October 2 forum that he would create a 24-7 non-police outreach team to respond to non-emergency situations involving people in crisis. He said a first priority in his first 90 days would be returning to a more detailed city budget so residents could see where money is spent. He also proposed a business navigator giving businesses one point of contact at city hall, and said he would repeal the ban on supportive housing and on overdose prevention sites.

Public safety and the approach to the Downtown Eastside generated differences. Sim said he supports a plebiscite to strengthen bylaws against hard drug use in public spaces. Fry said he would repeal bans on supportive housing and overdose prevention sites and create a non-police outreach team. On city finances, Bligh argued that a zero-per-cent tax increase does not capture the full financial picture, while Sim highlighted it as an achievement. On planning, Hardwick said the March official development plan should be repealed, while others did not take that position at the forum.

The Vancouver municipal election takes place on October 17, 2026, from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Advance voting is open on October 3, 7, 10 and 13 at any of 59 locations around the city, also from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. You can find advance voting places and election day voting places at the where-to-vote page on this site. Voters choose a mayor, city councillors, park board commissioners and school board trustees.