---
title: "Scott Gilbert: the Downtown Eastside campaigner running to “end the nonsense”"
description: "A sourced profile of the independent mayoral candidate: what he says about his engineering studies and research work, his decade in the Downtown Eastside, his bus, his proposals, and what has not been checked."
canonical_url: "https://voche.me/news/scott-gilbert-mayoral-candidate-profile"
last_updated: "2026-09-24T00:41:38.929Z"
---

Scott Gilbert is number 57 on the mayoral ballot, the last name on the list, with no party beside it. CityNews and CBC News describe him as a Downtown Eastside activist who says he wants to bring humour into city politics while dealing with serious problems. His slogan is “end the nonsense.” Most of what is public about him comes from his own website, so this profile marks what is self-reported and what an outside source has confirmed. His research page is at [voche.me/candidates/scott-gilbert](/candidates/scott-gilbert).

## What his campaign says about his life

His website says he studied environmental engineering at the University of Guelph and worked as an assistant to Dr. Nancy Olivieri at the University Health Network in Toronto, where he wrote material about the influence of the pharmaceutical industry on research. It says he moved to Vancouver ten years ago and has lived and worked in the Downtown Eastside for most of that time, and that those years shaped how he looks at the fentanyl crisis, including the roles of drug company research, financial incentives and public policy.

The site also says that in 2025 he volunteered as an informal organizer at an encampment on Bowser Island in North Vancouver, arranging sanitation, water, fire safety and housing. CityNews mentioned that role in its September 13 overview of the candidates.

voche.me has not confirmed his studies, his employment or the Bowser Island role with the university, the hospital or the District of North Vancouver. His research page lists verifiable qualifications and employment dates as an open question; the campaign has not published them.

## The bus and the message

CBC News reported that his campaign bus carries the words “Make Hastings Great Again” and calls for detox beds rather than involuntary care beds, for measures against retail theft, for solutions to homelessness, and for better service and accountability at City Hall. He describes himself on his website as a bit of a comedian who solves problems with measurable results.

## What he proposes

From his website, in his own order:

- Low-cost RV housing for people without homes.
- Public toilets.
- More women in policing and firefighting.
- Renewal of the Hastings Street area.
- Paid scrap-metal work programs.
- A “New Deal” for the Downtown Eastside.
- Walk-in detox services, favoured over involuntary care.
- Parking and housing measures.
- Two civic participation apps, which he calls Vancouver City Servant and Agora, and an avatar project for taking part in Council matters.
- Better City services at lower cost.

He has not published what any of these would cost, which he would do first, or what agreements with the Province, which funds health care, would be needed for detox capacity. He has not published a calendar of public appearances, and voche.me found no confirmed appearance for him through election day.

## Where he stands

No published poll has named him. Research Co.’s August poll put all candidates outside the main seven at 3% of decided voters combined. The figures are on the [polls page](/polls).

## What is still unknown

His qualifications and employment history; the cost and order of his proposals; when voters could test the participation apps; and his schedule. No controversy about him appears in the sources we read, and the record is thin enough that this should be read as absence of reporting rather than a clean bill.

*Image: False Creek and downtown Vancouver, photo by Northwest via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0, cropped and composed with text by voche.me.*

## Sitemap

See the full [sitemap](/sitemap.md) for all pages.