Pete Fry names supportive housing reversal as first council priority

Mayor-elect Pete Fry said Monday that reversing Vancouver's temporary pause on new supportive housing projects is one of the first things the new council will address. Fry and 10 newly elected councillors will be sworn in on November 2, according to Vancouver Is Awesome.

The Green Party leader won Saturday's election with 98,494 votes to outgoing mayor Ken Sim's 67,467, according to the City of Vancouver's unofficial results reported by Vancouver Is Awesome.

New council and first priorities

Fry told Vancouver Is Awesome that his main goal before starting is to sit down with all the councillors to talk about what they want to accomplish.

"Job No. 1 is sitting down with all the councillors and talking about what their objectives are, and how they want to function and what we can do together," he said early Sunday.

The new council has five Green members, four COPE members, one OneCity member, and one ABC Vancouver member. Sean Orr, who won a COPE byelection seat in April 2025, topped the council vote. Annette Reilly placed second with 78,476 votes. Lucy Maloney was re-elected for OneCity Vancouver. Mike Klassen was the sole returning ABC Vancouver member. With seven newcomers who have never held office, Fry told CTV News he expects a learning period before the council can move quickly.

Between the three left-of-centre parties, reversing the previous council's pause on new supportive housing is agreed to be among the first actions. CTV News also reported Fry plans to expand low-barrier daytime shelter spaces with toilets and support services for homeless people who have nowhere to stay after overnight shelters close each morning.

Housing approach

On housing construction, Fry told CTV News he wants to push a buy-local procurement policy that supports wood-frame building, arguing this could help B.C. forestry companies struggling with U.S. tariffs while also getting more homes built faster.

His Green Party platform included pre-approved housing designs to lower approval times and costs, including mid-rise wood-frame apartments, as well as modular or prefab homes the party called the "Vancouver Special 2.0." He told CTV that wood-frame homes "can be built faster and cheaper."

These plans tie to promises Fry made during the campaign, tracked at his candidate page.

Budget and plebiscite

The new council's first major financial decision will come in December when a budget must be set. Fry told Vancouver Is Awesome he heard from voters that a large property tax increase would be a problem, and said he expects "a predictable, reasonable, modest" increase.

The results of two plebiscite questions on public drug use and involuntary mental health care are expected on October 21. Fry told CTV News those plebiscites are non-binding and "don't inform any decision-making process."

CTV also reported that Providence Health Care announced on Friday that the new St. Paul's Hospital will include 90 secure mental health beds.

Voters who want to follow what the new council does on these promises can check the promise tracker for Pete Fry.