---
title: "Vancouver public safety plebiscite: 68.6% voted Yes on drug-use laws, 68% on treatment facility"
description: "The City of Vancouver released the official count of its two public safety plebiscite questions on October 21, 2026. Both received 68 per cent Yes support, but the results are non-binding."
canonical_url: "https://voche.me/news/public-safety-plebiscite-count-october-21"
last_updated: "2026-10-21T23:57:57.797Z"
---

Vancouver's public safety plebiscite gave 68.6 per cent support to stronger laws against open-air drug use and 68 per cent support to seeking a secure treatment facility, according to the official count the City released on October 21, 2026.

Daily Hive Vancouver reported that the first question, which asked whether Vancouver should strengthen laws to prohibit open-air use of heroin, methamphetamine, fentanyl, and crack in public spaces, received 137,178 Yes votes and 62,880 No votes. The second question, which asked whether the City should formally request the provincial government convert portions of the old St. Paul's Hospital site into a secure medical facility with involuntary care beds, received 135,509 Yes votes and 63,722 No votes.

Both results are non-binding and advisory. A Yes vote does not change any law or approve the creation of a treatment facility.

**Why the count came four days after the election**

Daily Hive reported that the ballot forms for the public safety plebiscite were not scanned and counted on election night. Voters dropped separate ballot forms into a cardboard box at each polling station, and those forms were processed after the main count. The City released the plebiscite count alongside its official election results on October 21.

**What the incoming council says**

[Pete Fry](/candidates/pete-fry), who won the mayoralty on October 17, told Daily Hive Urbanized before the count was released that the results would not change his approach. He described the plebiscite as "a cynical election ploy" by [Ken Sim](/candidates/ken-sim) and [ABC Vancouver](/parties/abc-vancouver) and said it asked residents to weigh in on issues beyond the City's authority.

Daily Hive reported that Fry's approach to public drug use would focus on giving people somewhere else to go, alongside better access to shelter and support, and on lifting ABC's bans on supervised consumption sites and net new supportive housing.

The Greens, COPE, and OneCity, which hold 10 of 11 council seats, all opposed staging the plebiscite during the campaign, according to Daily Hive.

**The capital borrowing questions also passed**

Three other plebiscite questions on the ballot gave the City authority to borrow money for specific purposes. Daily Hive reported all three passed. The request for $292 million for transportation received 147,559 Yes votes and 41,669 No votes, a rate of 78 per cent. The request for $438 million for community facilities received 150,309 Yes votes and 38,914 No votes, a rate of 79.4 per cent. The request for $60 million for parks received 152,969 Yes votes and 36,590 No votes, a rate of 80.7 per cent. Those approvals give the City the legal authority to borrow up to those amounts over the next four years.

The new council will be inaugurated on November 2, 2026. You can see the full results of the October 17 election at [/results](/results).

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