COPE's plan for the city: libraries, food, transit, climate, safety, the arts and elections
Fight for Vancouver is the longest section of COPE's platform. It covers libraries, pools and parks, groceries, small business, climate, transit, child care, safety, AI, the arts, fairness and voting, with commitments such as free transit for youth and 2,200 child care spaces.
CITY COUNCIL · PAGES 12 TO 26
The aim of Fight for Vancouver, in the party's words
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.
The third section of COPE's platform, on pages 12 to 26, shares its name with the whole document. It covers most of what the city does outside housing. The parts deal with libraries, pools and parks, the cost of groceries, local business, a Climate Defence Strategy, transit, families and child care, public safety, artificial intelligence, the arts, fairness, and how Vancouver votes. The School Board part of this section has its own page on this site.
Among the specific commitments are libraries open 7 days a week, a new 50 metre pool, a public grocery pilot, a Buy Vancouver purchasing policy, a 30% tree canopy by 2050, free transit for everyone under 18, at least 2,200 new public child care spaces by 2030, and peer-assisted care teams for mental health calls. COPE would also rename Dunsmuir Street to Ginger Goodwin Street and push for ranked ballots, wards and votes at 16.
Responsibility is spread widely in this section. Council controls city streets, zoning, city land, the budget and city bylaws. The elected Park Board runs parks, pools and community centres. Buses and SkyTrain are run by TransLink, a regional body. Child care licensing, health services, rules on who may vote and new taxing powers are provincial, and ports and headlight rules are federal.
11 CHAPTERS
Every chapter in Fight for Vancouver
Build the Commons
COPE on libraries, pools and parks: 7-day libraries, a 50 metre pool, more off-leash space
- Open libraries 7 days a week
- More 24/7 public washrooms
- Speed up park and community centre upgrades
Make Groceries More Affordable
COPE on food costs: a public grocery pilot, an edible food recovery law, free school meals
- An edible food recovery law
- Protect affordable community grocers
- A public grocery pilot project
Protect the Local Economy
COPE on small business: Buy Vancouver, a Local Business Office, affordable storefronts
- A Buy Vancouver policy
- Protect local shops and restaurants
- Support right-sized retail
Climate Defence Strategy
COPE on climate: a Climate Defence Strategy, 30% tree canopy by 2050, rejoin Sue Big Oil
- Turn the adaptation strategy into a Climate Defence Strategy
- Climate Defence: get more with less
- Climate Defence: upgrade public infrastructure and housing
Better Transit and Transportation
COPE on transit: free rides for youth, a low-income pass, a Broadway bike lane
- Fight for a fast and free public transit system
- Fare-free bus route pilots
- Free transit for all youth under 18
Keep Families in Vancouver
COPE on families: 2,200 new public child care spaces by 2030 and an affordability audit
- An Affordability Audit for Families
- At least 2,200 new public child care spaces by 2030
- Drop-in child care at community centres and schools
Make The City Safe for Everyone
COPE on safety: care teams for mental health calls, a violence task force, safer streets
- Plan for climate events and earthquakes
- Stop intimate partner violence
- Infrastructure and programs to reduce suicide risk
Don't Force A.I. on Vancouver
COPE on AI: pause AI chat tools in schools, protect city data, oppose AI data centres
- Pause AI language models in Vancouver schools
- AI rules to protect public data
- Oppose using AI to replace workers
Keep the Arts in Vancouver
COPE on the arts: a Cultural Land Trust, inflation-linked grants, an empty business tax
- A Cultural Land Trust
- A Vancouver Arts and Cultural Spaces Strategy
- A Vancouver Arts, Culture, and Creative City Navigator
Fight for a Just Vancouver
COPE on fairness: a mansion tax, a living wage, a "too hot to work" bylaw
- Tax wealth in Vancouver
- Restore the city's living wage policy
- Fund pools, recreation and public services
Take Democracy Back from the Billionaires
COPE on elections: ranked ballots for mayor, votes at 16, Democracy Dollars
- A ranked ballot for mayor, starting in 2030
- Use public tools to engage residents
- A Democracy Dollars program
WHO WOULD HAVE TO ACT
Who holds the power for these 124 commitments
Each chapter page names the body for every commitment and gives the reason in one sentence.
ON THE BALLOT
The COPE candidates behind this
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Questions about Fight for Vancouver
What is COPE's Fight for Vancouver section?
Fight for Vancouver is the third section of COPE's 2026 platform. It covers libraries and parks, groceries, small business, climate, transit, families, safety, AI, the arts, fairness and elections (platform, pages 12 to 26).
What would COPE do about transit in Vancouver?
COPE would work toward fast and free transit, starting with fare-free bus pilots, free transit for everyone under 18 and a low-income pass. It would add a Broadway bike lane and push to extend SkyTrain to UBC. TransLink runs transit, so most of these are requests to TransLink (platform, page 18).
What is COPE's climate plan for Vancouver?
COPE would turn the city's climate adaptation plan into a Climate Defence Strategy, grow the tree canopy to 30% by 2050, rejoin the Sue Big Oil lawsuit and oppose dredging and tankers in Burrard Inlet (platform, pages 16 and 17).
What does COPE propose for public safety?
COPE would move mental health calls away from police toward peer-assisted care teams, set up an intimate partner violence task force, support safe supply and supervised consumption sites, and lower speed limits on high-risk streets (platform, pages 22 and 23).
What does COPE want to change about Vancouver elections?
COPE would push for a ranked ballot for mayor starting in 2030, proportional representation with wards, votes for permanent residents and everyone over 16, and $25 Democracy Dollars vouchers. Voting rules are set in the Vancouver Charter, which only the Province can change (platform, page 26).
Who would carry out COPE's Fight for Vancouver commitments?
Council controls city streets, zoning, land, the budget and bylaws, and the Park Board runs parks, pools and community centres. TransLink runs transit, the Province controls child care licensing, health care and voting rules, and the federal government controls ports and vehicle rules (platform, pages 12 to 26).
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 · pages 12 to 26 · checked
- Vancouver Fraser Port Authority: organization profile Government of Canada · checked
- Vancouver Charter, sections 23 and 24: who may vote in Vancouver elections Province of British Columbia · checked