Vancouver voters approved $790 million in borrowing and both plebiscite questions, official results show
CityHallWatch analyzed the City of Vancouver's official 2026 election results, finding both public safety plebiscite questions passed at about 68% Yes and all three capital borrowing questions passed in every neighbourhood.
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Vancouver voters approved up to $790 million in Capital Plan borrowing and passed both public safety plebiscite questions, according to CityHallWatch's analysis of the City of Vancouver's official election results, published October 26.
Both plebiscite questions passed at about 68% Yes citywide. Question 1, which asked whether the City should forbid open-air hard drug use near schools, shelters and community centres, received 137,178 Yes votes and 62,880 No votes, a Yes share of 68.57%, CityHallWatch reported. Question 2, which asked whether the City should create secure care at the old St. Paul's Hospital site, received 135,509 Yes votes and 63,722 No votes, a Yes share of 68.02%.
The two questions passed by similar margins overall but drew different patterns across the city. Question 1's Yes share tracked the Mayor's race in reverse: the stronger Pete Fry's lead over Ken Sim at a polling place, the lower the Yes share on Question 1. Question 2 varied about half as much across polls and had a different geography.
All three Capital Plan borrowing questions passed in every one of Vancouver's 22 neighbourhoods, according to CityHallWatch. Pooled across all three questions, the vote was 450,837 Yes and 117,173 No, a Yes share of 79.37%. That result allows the new Council to borrow up to $790 million for the 2027-2030 Capital Plan.
Across the 208,514 Council ballots, voters left 428,013 of the 10 available spots blank, CityHallWatch found, working out to 2.05 blank spots per ballot. That is a 20.5% blank rate, the same as in 2018 and close to 2022's 20.9%. Park Board blanks fell from 26.1% in 2018 to 20.0% in 2026. School Trustee blanks were highest at 31.1%.
CityHallWatch's analysis is based on the City of Vancouver's official 2026 election results. The full breakdown of results, including individual candidate totals, is at the results page.
Questions this story answers
Did the Vancouver public safety plebiscite questions pass?
Yes, both passed. CityHallWatch reported on October 26, 2026, using the City of Vancouver's official results, that Question 1 (forbidding open-air hard drug use near schools, shelters and community centres) received 137,178 Yes votes and 62,880 No votes, a Yes share of 68.57%. Question 2 (creating secure involuntary care at the old St. Paul's Hospital site) received 135,509 Yes votes and 63,722 No votes, a Yes share of 68.02%.
What did Vancouver voters decide about the Capital Plan borrowing questions?
All three Capital Plan borrowing questions passed in every one of Vancouver's 22 neighbourhoods, according to CityHallWatch's analysis of the City of Vancouver's official results published October 26, 2026. Pooled across all three questions, the vote was 450,837 Yes and 117,173 No, a Yes share of 79.37%. The result allows Council to borrow up to $790 million for the 2027-2030 Capital Plan.
How many Council ballot spots were left blank in the 2026 Vancouver election?
CityHallWatch reported that across 208,514 Council ballots, 428,013 of the 10 available spots per ballot were left blank. That works out to 2.05 blanks per ballot, and 20.5% of all Council slots went unused. The rate was the same as in 2018 (20.5%) and close to 2022 (20.9%).
How did voting method affect blank votes on the Council ballot?
According to CityHallWatch's analysis of the City's official results, election-day voters left 2.41 blanks per Council ballot on average, while advance voters left 1.81 and mail voters 1.52. At the 57 sites that held both an advance and an election-day poll, the advance poll had fewer blanks every time.
Where in Vancouver were the most and fewest Council ballot spots left blank?
By local area, CityHallWatch found the most blank Council spots in Victoria-Fraserview (2.32 per ballot), Killarney (2.26) and Downtown (2.26). The fewest were in Grandview-Woodland (1.77), Riley Park (1.82) and South Cambie (1.84). The figures are based on the City of Vancouver's official 2026 election results.
How did Pete Fry's 2026 win compare to Ken Sim's 2022 win?
CityHallWatch reported that Ken Sim's margin over his main opponent went from +21.5 percentage points in 2022 to -15.1 points in 2026, when Pete Fry won. According to the analysis, every neighbourhood moved toward Pete Fry, by between 21.5 and 45.3 points compared to 2022.
How did Park Board and School Trustee ballot blank rates compare?
CityHallWatch found that 31.1% of School Trustee ballot slots were left blank in 2026, compared with 20.0% for Park Board and 20.5% for Council. Park Board blanks fell from 26.1% in 2018 to 20.0% in 2026. The School Trustee rate was highest because voters could pick up to 9 candidates, compared with 7 for Park Board and 10 for Council.
Did the two plebiscite questions get similar results across different neighbourhoods?
CityHallWatch reported that both questions passed at about 68% Yes citywide, but their patterns across the city were different. Question 1 tracked the Mayor's race closely in reverse: the stronger Pete Fry's lead over Ken Sim at a poll, the lower the Yes share on Question 1. Question 2 varied about half as much across polls and had a different geographic pattern. Both questions passed Yes in every election-day poll except two, which had a No majority only on Question 1.
Sources
The pages this story draws on. Open one to check a claim yourself.
- CityHallWatch: How Vancouver voted, part 2 (October 26, 2026)cityhallwatch.wordpress.com
- City of Vancouver: Capital Plan borrowing questions and plebiscite questionsvancouver.ca
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