Pete Fry names budget and community safety as his first priorities as Vancouver's new mayor

Pete Fry became Vancouver's 42nd mayor on November 2, 2026, sworn in at The Orpheum Theatre in front of more than 1,000 people. Within hours, he sat down for the new council's first public meeting and named his deputy mayor. After the ceremony, he told reporters the two things he would tackle first.

Business in Vancouver reported that Fry stood at the lectern and said: "I may be mayor, but I'm also a neighbour, and being a good neighbour means listening carefully. It means showing up, it means working through difficult conversations and staying at the table, even when things get complicated. And that's the approach I hope to bring to city hall."

What happens first

In a press scrum after the ceremony, Fry said balancing the city's budget in December is the first major order of business. Vancouver City Council approves its annual budget each December, setting the property tax rate and the spending plan for the following year.

His second priority is setting up the infrastructure for community safety. Fry told reporters he wants daytime shelter access and wants to get unhoused, unwell people off the street and into stable environments. To do that, he said he would reach out to the provincial and federal governments to activate funding. Two Green Party campaign promises sit behind this goal: the CROW team and the Office of Community Safety.

CROW stands for Community Response Outreach Workers. The Green Party's platform commits to a 24-hour, non-police, non-medical mobile response team to handle non-emergency calls about people experiencing homelessness, addiction or other needs. The idea is that people calling about someone in crisis on the street would reach CROW workers rather than police or paramedics, saving emergency resources for situations that need them.

The Office of Community Safety is a separate promise: a body that would bring together neighbourhood services like fire, police, licensing and planning into what the party's platform calls a proactive approach. The promise on Fry's tracker page at /tracker names both the CROW team and the Office of Community Safety as pledges. Neither has a start date yet.

The ceremony

B.C. Provincial Court Judge Reginald Harris administered the oath of office to Fry, then to the 10 councillors: Green Party members Annette Reilly, Stephanie Smith, Camil Dumont and Bridget Burns; COPE members Sean Orr, Chloe Leslie, Solomon Yi-Kieran and Devyani Singh; OneCity's Lucy Maloney; and ABC's Mike Klassen.

The Vancouver Fire Rescue Services band played before the ceremony. Members of the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh nations welcomed the crowd. Singer Marie Hui sang the national anthem.

Fry won 98,748 votes in the October 17 election, Business in Vancouver reported. ABC Vancouver, which held a majority in the outgoing council, was reduced to one seat; Klassen was the only ABC member to hold on.

The new council's shape

No single party holds a majority on the 11-member council. The Greens hold five seats, including the mayor's. COPE holds four. OneCity and ABC each hold one.

Fry acknowledged this in his remarks, turning to the 10 councillors and saying, "I love you all," which drew a laugh. He added that tough decisions are inevitable and disagreements will happen, but that collaboration was the approach he planned to bring.

Deputy mayor and first meeting

Later the same evening, the new council held its first public meeting at city hall. It was brief. Fry used it to name each councillor's strengths and formally appoint Sean Orr as deputy mayor.

"A steadfast defender of the underdog and a champion for poverty reduction," Fry said of Orr. "Getting to know you and sharing a little of what I've learned along the way has been a gift. That's why I've asked you to serve as deputy mayor."

The first meeting also approved recommendations to fill statutory positions, including seats on the Metro Vancouver board.

The youngest councillor in Vancouver's history

Solomon Yi-Kieran, who turns 21 next year, is the youngest person ever elected to Vancouver City Hall, Business in Vancouver reported. He told reporters after the ceremony: "Representing the perspectives of young people in the city means making sure that we have a city that when you move to it, you can actually stay here, you're able to build a life here."

He named housing affordability and transit access as his two main focuses.

What comes next

The council's first budget approval is due in December. The term runs until November 4, 2030, under the Vancouver Charter. The promise tracker at /tracker lists every pledge made during the campaign by the mayor and each councillor, and will record each vote alongside any promise it touches as the term progresses.

Residents can follow council's meeting schedule and read published agendas and minutes on the City's council meetings site at council.vancouver.ca.