What Vancouver's new council has promised on housing
The four parties that hold seats on Vancouver City Council have each made specific housing commitments. The Realist newsletter compiled them party by party.
Reported. A news outlet found this. voche.me names the outlet and links its report. Read the original report on howardchai.substack.com.
Howard Chai's real estate newsletter, The Realist, published a party-by-party breakdown of Vancouver council's housing commitments on November 2, the day the new mayor and councillors were sworn in. The article quotes the housing sections of each party's 2026 campaign platform.
The four parties that hold council seats are the Green Party of Vancouver (5 seats, including Mayor Pete Fry), COPE (4 seats), OneCity (1 seat) and ABC Vancouver (1 seat).
What the Green Party committed to
The Green Party platform, as quoted in The Realist, commits to building affordable housing on city land through co-ops and land trusts, and creating a city role dedicated to delivering non-market housing. It also commits to Vancouver Public Housing Bonds, inclusionary zoning to require affordable homes in large developments, and a moratorium on units smaller than 250 square feet. Green councillors include Annette Reilly, Bridget Burns, Camil Dumont and Stephanie Smith.
What COPE committed to
COPE's platform, as cited by The Realist, commits to reversing the cut to the Empty Homes Tax and tripling it to 9 percent. It also commits to permanently affordable housing financed through taxes on mansions and empty lots, taxing land value increases from rezoning, and penalties on vacant lots held for profit. COPE's four councillors are Sean Orr, Chloe Leslie, Devyani Singh and Solomon Yi-Kieran.
What OneCity committed to
OneCity's platform, as cited by The Realist, commits to building 4,000 affordable homes on city-owned land using federal funding. It also commits to legalizing four storeys in every neighbourhood, allowing narrow lot subdivision down to 25 feet (the current standard is 33 feet), cutting frontage setbacks to five feet, and expanding tenant relocation protections citywide. OneCity holds one seat, held by Lucy Maloney.
What ABC Vancouver committed to
ABC Vancouver's platform included delivering the River District Community Centre, faster permitting, and a 0 percent property tax increase in 2027. The Realist noted that ABC published no dedicated housing section and that its platform documents were shorter and less detailed than the other three parties. ABC holds one seat, held by councillor Mike Klassen.
Tracking these commitments
The platform commitments above are what each party said during the campaign. The voche.me promise tracker at /tracker records what each elected councillor has done in office. Residents can follow each councillor's page to see their pledges and any dated records of action.
Questions this story answers
What did the Green Party of Vancouver promise on housing?
The Green Party of Vancouver's platform, as quoted by The Realist, commits to building affordable housing on city land through co-ops and land trusts, creating a dedicated affordable housing role at city hall, introducing Vancouver Public Housing Bonds to finance city-owned affordable housing, requiring affordable homes in large developments through inclusionary zoning, and placing a moratorium on units under 250 square feet. The platform also commits to restoring a Renters Office and strengthening tenant relocation protections. These are party platform commitments; none has been tested in office yet.
What did COPE promise on housing?
COPE's platform, as compiled by The Realist, commits to tripling the Empty Homes Tax from its current level to 9 percent, financing permanently affordable public housing through taxes on wealth and mansions, taxing land value increases caused by rezoning, placing a penalty on vacant lots held for profit, and restoring the Renters Office with power to collectively bargain for tenants. COPE won 4 of the 11 council seats in October 2026. These are campaign commitments; the new council took office November 2.
What did OneCity Vancouver promise on housing?
OneCity's platform, as cited by The Realist, commits to building 4,000 affordable homes on city-owned land using federal funding, legalizing four storeys in every neighbourhood with six storeys near city centres, allowing narrow lot subdivision down to 25 feet (smaller than the current 33-foot standard), cutting frontage setbacks to five feet, and expanding tenant relocation protections citywide. OneCity holds one council seat, held by Lucy Maloney. These are campaign commitments; the new council took office November 2.
What did ABC Vancouver promise on housing?
ABC Vancouver's platform, as noted by The Realist, included delivering the River District Community Centre, faster permitting, and a 0 percent property tax increase in 2027 for buyers and renters. ABC won one council seat in October 2026, held by Mike Klassen. The Realist noted that ABC's platform was shorter and less detailed on housing than the other three parties.
Who is on Vancouver City Council now?
Vancouver City Council was sworn in on November 2, 2026. The 11-member council includes Mayor Pete Fry and four Green Party councillors: Annette Reilly, Bridget Burns, Camil Dumont and Stephanie Smith. COPE holds four seats: Sean Orr, Chloe Leslie, Devyani Singh and Solomon Yi-Kieran. OneCity holds one seat: Lucy Maloney. ABC Vancouver holds one seat: Mike Klassen.
Where can I track what the new council actually does on housing?
The voche.me promise tracker at /tracker shows the housing commitments of each elected Vancouver councillor and records what they have done in office, with a dated record for each update. You can follow each councillor's page from /candidates to see their specific pledges and how the tracker records their votes and decisions.
What is The Realist newsletter?
The Realist is a real estate newsletter written by Howard Chai and published on Substack. The article cited here compiled the housing sections of each council party's 2026 campaign platform, quoting them directly. Howard Chai's own commentary in the article is his analysis and is not cited in this brief.
When did the new Vancouver council take office?
Vancouver's new mayor and 10 councillors were officially sworn in on November 2, 2026, at The Orpheum Theatre. This made official the results of the October 17, 2026 municipal election, in which Pete Fry won 98,748 votes to become mayor.
Sources
The pages this story draws on. Open one to check a claim yourself.
- The Realist: Vancouver Has A New Mayor And Council. Here Are Their Housing Promises.howardchai.substack.com
- voche.me promise trackervoche.me
- Green Party of Vancouver platformgreenpartyofvancouver.ca
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