COPE's 2026 platform, Fight for Vancouver, section by section
Every commitment in COPE's 2026 platform, Fight for Vancouver, sorted by section, with the PDF page for each one and the government that would have to act. It covers housing, a review of City Hall, city services, transit, climate and the School Board.
THE DOCUMENT
What is in the COPE Fight for Vancouver
COPE, the Coalition of Progressive Electors, calls its 2026 platform "Fight for Vancouver". The party published it as a PDF in three numbered sections: Fight for Housing, The People's Audit, and Fight for Vancouver. COPE also publishes a black-and-white print version, called its Election Program, with the same text.
These pages split the PDF into its numbered parts. Each page lists every commitment in the party's own order, with the PDF page it comes from, so you can check the wording yourself. We added one thing the PDF does not give: which government would have to act for each commitment, and why. We moved part 3.7, COPE's School Board platform, into a section of its own so that School Board voters can find it.
COPE is running candidates for City Council, Park Board and School Board, and none for mayor. Much of the platform asks Council to act with its own powers over zoning, city land, the budget and city bylaws. Other parts ask the Province, the federal government or TransLink to act, and on those points COPE could only press.
This is the party describing its own plans
The Fight for Vancouver is a campaign document. We checked it on . Every page in this section reports what the party says it would do, gives the PDF page for each commitment, and adds who would have to act. voche.me wrote these pages. The party did not write or approve them.
FOUR SECTIONS
The platform, section by section
Fight for Housing
We can make housing affordable if we’re willing to fight for it.Read the section
The People's Audit
Identify and report on what happened and why under Ken Sim’s tenure, and who bore the consequences for the decisions made.Read the section
Fight for Vancouver
Expand library hours to be open 7 days a week, and give libraries the support they’re asking for, including funding for mental health workers, and better working conditions.Read the section
Put Students First at Vancouver School Board
Prioritize classrooms and services for students as first priority.Read the section
WHO WOULD HAVE TO ACT
Which government each commitment depends on
The platform does not say which government holds each power. We added it for every commitment. City Council, the Park Board and the School Board are the three bodies on the October 17 ballot. Where a commitment needs the province, the federal government or a regional body, the party can only ask.
ALL 207 COMMITMENTS
Search every commitment
Showing all 207 commitments, grouped by chapter
Stop the Loss of Affordable HousingFight for Housing
- Close the loopholes landlords use to raise rentsPage 5
- Triple the Empty Homes TaxPage 5
- Buy apartments and turn them into public housing and co-opsPage 5
- Support community-led land trustsPage 5
- Support, protect and expand co-op housingPage 6
- Protect land held by non-profit community groupsPage 6
- Stop public land sell-offsPage 6
- Expand public land and create a city-wide public land trustPage 6
- Tax non-resident investorsPage 6
- Make redevelopment fees cover replacement homesPage 6
- Stop demovictions with a city-wide anti-displacement policyPage 6
- Grow where there are single family homes, parking lots and storefrontsPage 6
- Retrofit existing affordable housingPage 6
- Expand the tenant relocation and protection policy city-widePage 6
- Make developers bear the full costs of relocationPage 6
- Public workers to support tenants during developmentsPage 6
- Use city-owned land for swing-site housingPage 6
Permanently Affordable Public HousingFight for Housing
- Negotiate, build and secure 20,000+ affordable homesPage 7
- Act as lead negotiator for stalled housing sitesPage 7
- Finance public housing with taxes on wealth, mansions and empty lotsPage 7
- Tax land value and capture landowner windfallsPage 7
- Use it or lose it: a penalty on land-bankingPage 7
- Fight for housing at every income levelPage 7
- Affordable housing and services in every neighbourhoodPage 7
Protect RentersFight for Housing
- Bring back the Renters Office, with teethPage 8
- Make landlords maintain units, or the city repairs and bills themPage 8
- Allow pets in all rentalsPage 8
- Crack down on bad landlords with a Landlord RegistryPage 8
- Track rent history through the Renters OfficePage 8
- Ban rent-price collusionPage 8
- Protect the right of tenants to organizePage 8
- Protect renters rights by lawPage 8
Tax Mansions to End HomelessnessFight for Housing
- Address homelessness with all available city powersPage 9
- A Greater Vancouver partnership to end homelessnessPage 9
- End tent cities by providing affordable housingPage 9
- Stop street sweepsPage 9
- Ban hostile architecture in public spacePage 9
- Follow the National Protocol for Homeless EncampmentsPage 9
- Restore the Downtown Eastside Oppenheimer District zoningPage 9
- Tax mansions to end homelessnessPage 9
Reverse Course on Ken Sim and ABC ImmediatelyThe People's Audit
- Report on what happened under Ken SimPage 10
- A worker-led audit of City HallPage 10
- Fix the ways the bureaucracy is brokenPage 10
- An emergency transitional budgetPage 10
- Restore the Renters Office with power over bad landlordsPage 10
- End the freeze on supportive housingPage 10
- Bring back Vancouver's climate programsPage 10
- Reverse the cut to the Empty Homes Tax, then triple itPage 10
- An Affordability Audit for VancouverPage 10
Expose the Damage, Clean up the MessThe People's Audit
- Find out how major decisions were madePage 11
- Fight waste from Ken Sim's managementPage 11
- Find out why progress on city goals stalledPage 11
- Review how the city uses AI and city dataPage 11
- Act on violations of public trustPage 11
- Make the Auditor General more independentPage 11
- Carry out the Auditor General's land sales recommendationsPage 11
End the Influence of Billionaires and Lobbyists at City HallThe People's Audit
Build the CommonsFight for Vancouver
- Open libraries 7 days a weekPage 12
- More 24/7 public washroomsPage 12
- Speed up park and community centre upgradesPage 12
- Support tool libraries and the circular economyPage 12
- Make Vancouver friendly to dogs and dog ownersPage 12
- Expand VanWifiPage 12
- Upgrade playgrounds and parksPage 12
- Fully fund library programsPage 12
- Work across the three elected boardsPage 13
- An independent, democratic Park BoardPage 13
- Ban private profit from public amenitiesPage 13
- End the developer tax break behind gravel dog parksPage 13
- Build more public pools, including a 50 metre poolPage 13
- Train and hire lifeguards and swim instructorsPage 13
- Support and expand the Leisure Access ProgramPage 13
- Empower community-led initiativesPage 13
- Oppose private use of public land and industry in parksPage 13
Make Groceries More AffordableFight for Vancouver
- An edible food recovery lawPage 14
- Protect affordable community grocersPage 14
- A public grocery pilot projectPage 14
- Reinstate Vancouver's Food System Planner rolesPage 14
- Coordinate the network of community gardensPage 14
- Public food distribution networksPage 14
- Universal breakfast and lunch at Vancouver School BoardPage 14
- Use the city's buying power to buy from local farmersPage 14
- Expand meal programs, community kitchens and gardensPage 14
Protect the Local EconomyFight for Vancouver
- A Buy Vancouver policyPage 15
- Protect local shops and restaurantsPage 15
- Support right-sized retailPage 15
- Affordable city-owned commercial spacePage 15
- A Vancouver Local Business OfficePage 15
- Support worker co-opsPage 15
- Push for changes to commercial tenancy agreementsPage 15
- Business licence reforms for start-upsPage 15
- Reinstate the Community Benefits Agreement policyPage 15
Climate Defence StrategyFight for Vancouver
- Turn the adaptation strategy into a Climate Defence StrategyPage 16
- Climate Defence: get more with lessPage 16
- Climate Defence: upgrade public infrastructure and housingPage 16
- Climate Defence: protect the food systemPage 16
- Climate Defence: help communities preparePage 16
- Get back on track for 6 climate targetsPage 16
- Lead the country on climate changePage 16
- Support wind, water and solar energyPage 16
- Rejoin the Sue Big Oil lawsuitPage 16
- Oppose dredging of the Burrard Inlet and fossil fuel tankersPage 16
- Honour Indigenous rights and knowledge on climatePage 16
- Grow the urban forest canopy to 30% by 2050Page 17
- Increase biodiversity in public parksPage 17
- Invest in transit, active transportation and cyclingPage 17
- More green space in dense areasPage 17
- Move toward a zero-waste economyPage 17
Better Transit and TransportationFight for Vancouver
- Fight for a fast and free public transit systemPage 18
- Fare-free bus route pilotsPage 18
- Free transit for all youth under 18Page 18
- A low-income transit passPage 18
- Free transit on election days, holidays and major eventsPage 18
- Close the gaps in the cycling networkPage 18
- A Broadway bike lanePage 18
- Lighting and safety on park pathsPage 18
- Connect bike and scooter routes to community centresPage 18
- Support community bike repairPage 18
- Expand bike share and scooters under public controlPage 18
- Covered bus shelters and benchesPage 18
- Improve public transit servicePage 18
- Extend rapid transit, including SkyTrain to UBCPage 18
- Bus lanes to prevent bunching and delaysPage 18
- Reverse TransLink cuts and restore bus frequencyPage 18
- Link the Compass Card to bikes and scootersPage 18
- Worker and rider seats on the TransLink BoardPage 18
- Bring HandyDART under public controlPage 18
Keep Families in VancouverFight for Vancouver
- An Affordability Audit for FamiliesPage 19
- At least 2,200 new public child care spaces by 2030Page 19
- Drop-in child care at community centres and schoolsPage 19
- Before-and-after school care at elementary schoolsPage 19
- Track and report on child care spacesPage 19
- City-owned space for children's programsPage 19
- Prioritize housing for familiesPage 19
Make The City Safe for EveryoneFight for Vancouver
- Plan for climate events and earthquakesPage 22
- Stop intimate partner violencePage 22
- Infrastructure and programs to reduce suicide riskPage 22
- Expand voluntary treatment and fight stigmaPage 22
- Address the root causes of survival crimePage 22
- Make Vancouver a Restorative Justice CityPage 22
- Support evidence-based overdose responsesPage 22
- Restore the sex worker safety planning positionPage 22
- Safety for people in the sex tradePage 22
- Move mental health calls away from policePage 22
- Challenge police board structures and audit the VPDPage 22
- Community safety programs for protests and eventsPage 22
- Lower speed limits on high-risk streetsPage 23
- Road upgrades and permanent school zonesPage 23
- A protected bike lane on BroadwayPage 23
- Better crosswalks and curb cutsPage 23
- Tackle ultra-bright headlightsPage 23
- Expand protected left turnsPage 23
Don't Force A.I. on VancouverFight for Vancouver
Keep the Arts in VancouverFight for Vancouver
- A Cultural Land TrustPage 24
- A Vancouver Arts and Cultural Spaces StrategyPage 24
- A Vancouver Arts, Culture, and Creative City NavigatorPage 24
- Raise arts operating grants and tie them to inflationPage 24
- End the crackdown on DIY arts venuesPage 24
- An empty business taxPage 24
- Art and music in public spacesPage 24
- Support museums, galleries and civic theatresPage 24
- Protect the Arts and Culture Advisory CommitteePage 24
Fight for a Just VancouverFight for Vancouver
- Tax wealth in VancouverPage 25
- Restore the city's living wage policyPage 25
- Fund pools, recreation and public servicesPage 25
- Apply a disability justice lensPage 25
- Oppose privatization and bring contractors in-housePage 25
- A "too hot to work" bylawPage 25
- Join the Apartheid-Free Communities pledgePage 25
- A real city of reconciliationPage 25
- Rename Dunsmuir Street to Ginger Goodwin StreetPage 25
Take Democracy Back from the BillionairesFight for Vancouver
- A ranked ballot for mayor, starting in 2030Page 26
- Use public tools to engage residentsPage 26
- A Democracy Dollars programPage 26
- Proportional representation, ranked ballots and wardsPage 26
- A citizens assembly on electoral reformPage 26
- Votes for all residents at 16, and an end to non-resident votingPage 26
- Make it easier to votePage 26
Put Students First at Vancouver School BoardPut Students First at Vancouver School Board
- Put classrooms and services for students firstPage 20
- A universal school meal programPage 20
- Use school buildings for child care, arts, sports and gardensPage 20
- Reverse cuts to programs for vulnerable studentsPage 20
- Support arts and recreation for studentsPage 20
- Push the Province to repair, replace and build schoolsPage 20
- Renewable energy in new school buildingsPage 20
- An urgent plan for seismic and air-quality upgradesPage 20
- Fund mental health counsellors in place of school liaison officersPage 20
- Push the Province for more public school fundingPage 20
- Treat school properties as public landsPage 20
- Open, moderated, live-streamed board meetingsPage 21
- Town halls and participatory budgetingPage 21
- Open oversight of the SuperintendentPage 21
- Regular governance reviewsPage 21
- Fewer private board meetingsPage 21
- Oppose public funds for elite private schoolsPage 21
- Inclusive, equitable and safe schoolsPage 21
- Properly fund inclusive educationPage 21
- Indigenous educational practicesPage 21
- Act on human rights recommendations on racismPage 21
- Defend SOGI educationPage 21
- Align special education funding with needsPage 21
ON THE BALLOT
The COPE candidates behind this
City Council
Park Board
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Questions about the Fight for Vancouver
What is in COPE's 2026 platform?
COPE's 2026 platform, Fight for Vancouver, has three sections. Fight for Housing covers rents, public housing and homelessness. The People's Audit is a review of City Hall after Ken Sim's term. Fight for Vancouver covers libraries and parks, food, small business, climate, transit, families, schools, safety, AI, the arts, fairness and elections (platform, pages 4 to 26).
Who are COPE's candidates in the 2026 Vancouver election?
COPE has no candidate for mayor. Chloe Leslie, Devyani Singh, Sean Orr and Solomon Yi-Kieran are running for City Council. Jamie Han, Sacia Burton, T'uy't'tanat Cease Wyss and Tamiko Suzuki are running for Park Board. Derrick O'Keefe, Gwen Giesbrecht, Melanie Cheng and Suzie Mah are running for School Board.
Where can I read COPE's 2026 platform?
COPE publishes the PDF, titled Fight for Vancouver, on its website, votecope.ca, along with a black-and-white print version called its Election Program. On this site, every commitment links to the page of the PDF it comes from.
What are COPE's biggest promises for 2026?
COPE would triple the Empty Homes Tax, buy apartment buildings for public housing and co-ops, and secure 20,000+ affordable homes. It would also bring back a Renters Office, tax mansions to end homelessness, and push for free transit, starting with everyone under 18 (platform, pages 5 to 18).
Could COPE carry out its platform if its candidates win?
COPE is not running for mayor, and a Council decision needs six of the eleven votes, so its councillors would need support from others. Many items, such as rent rules, new taxes, transit fares and voting rules, belong to the Province or TransLink, where the city can only ask. Each commitment on these pages names the body that would have to act.
Who wrote these pages about COPE's platform?
voche.me, an independent guide to the 2026 Vancouver election, wrote these pages from COPE's own PDF. COPE did not write or approve them. Every commitment is reported as something the party says it would do.
Other parties
We build a section like this for any party on the Vancouver ballot that publishes a full platform document. Every party is also covered on the same ten issues, side by side, so a shorter platform is compared on equal terms.
Sources
Every commitment on this page comes from the party's own material, marked SAYS SO ITSELF. It proves what the party says it would do. Who holds each power is our own addition, from the sources listed after it.
- Fight for Vancouver: COPE 2026 Platform (PDF) SAYS SO ITSELFCOPE · checked