Green Party of Vancouver Park Board platform: trees, fees, pools and budget
The Green Party of Vancouver's Park Board platform, pages 48 to 50, promises 5,000 new trees in place of old stumps, lower fees for swimming lessons and ice time, talks on co-managing parkland with three Nations, a new 50m pool, and $6m more city money for parks.
PARK BOARD · PAGES 48 TO 50
The aim of Park Board, in the party's words
Enhance urban ecosystems. No one priced out of public facilities.
The Green Party of Vancouver sets out its plan for the elected Park Board on pages 48 to 50 of its 2026 platform. The Park Board is the body Vancouver voters elect separately to run parks, beaches, community centres, pools and rinks. The Greens split the section into chapters on urban ecosystems and fees, programs for all ages and abilities together with reconciliation, and facilities together with the board's budget.
The largest numbers in the section are the party's own. The Greens say they would remove 5,000 stumps and replant toward a 30% tree canopy, pilot three Miyawaki forests, build a new 50m pool at Hastings or Kensington, and return $6m to the Park Board budget. The platform puts the board's dependence on user fee revenue at 56% under ABC and calls it excessive.
Park Board commissioners could carry out most of these commitments, since the board controls parks and recreation sites. Others need City Council, which approves the capital plan and the city budget that funds the board, and some need the Province or the three Nations. The elected board exists under the Vancouver Charter, a provincial law. Mayor Ken Sim's ABC party campaigned to end it, and the Province withdrew a 2025 bill that the plan needed. In July 2026 ABC said it would run Park Board candidates and no longer seek to abolish the board.
3 CHAPTERS
Every chapter in Park Board
Urban Ecosystems and Affordable Access
Greens' Park Board plan: 5,000 new trees, three Miyawaki forests, lower fees
- Remove 5,000 stumps and replant toward 30% canopy
- More tree canopy in underserved neighbourhoods, starting with Strathcona
- Protect community gardens and pollinator corridors
Programming for All Generations and All Abilities
Greens' Park Board plan: SafeSport, more dog parks, shared parkland with Nations
- Priority for youth and equity-seeking communities in field bookings
- Implement SafeSport standards
- Support childcare at community centres and connected schools
Facilities for the Future
Greens' Park Board plan: a new 50m pool, renewed centres and $6m back for parks
- Renew Hastings, Kensington and Renfrew community centres
- Renew pools and build a new 50m pool
- Climate-resilient gold standard for all new infrastructure
WHO WOULD HAVE TO ACT
Who holds the power for these 32 commitments
Each chapter page names the body for every commitment and gives the reason in one sentence.
ON THE BALLOT
The Green Party of Vancouver candidates behind this
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Questions about Park Board
What is in the Green Party of Vancouver's Park Board platform?
The Green Party of Vancouver's Park Board section has chapters on urban ecosystems and affordable access, programming for all generations and abilities, and facilities for the future. It covers tree planting, recreation fees, sports field bookings, reconciliation with three Nations, pools, community centres and the Park Board budget (platform, pages 48 to 50).
Does the Green Party of Vancouver want to keep the elected Park Board?
Yes. The Green Party of Vancouver says it would celebrate and honour the independent elected Park Board and its 136 year role in local democracy. In July 2026 ABC also said it would run Park Board candidates and no longer seek to abolish the board (platform, page 50).
What would Vancouver's Greens do about park and recreation fees?
The Greens say they would subsidize fees for swimming lessons, field permits and ice rentals and expand the Leisure Access Program for seniors and low income families. They would also cut what they call excessive dependence on user fee revenue, which the platform puts at 56% under ABC (platform, pages 48 and 50).
What would the Green Party of Vancouver build for the Park Board?
The Green Party of Vancouver says it would renew Hastings, Kensington and Renfrew community centres, keep working on Britannia, and renew the Vancouver Aquatic Centre, Kitsilano Pool, Kerrisdale and Britannia pools. It would also build a new 50m pool at Hastings or Kensington (platform, page 50).
What do the Vancouver Greens promise on trees and green space?
The Greens say they would remove 5,000 existing stumps and plant new trees toward 30% tree canopy city-wide, starting with Strathcona, and pilot three Miyawaki forests. They would work with City Council on the 3-30-300 rule: three trees visible from every home, 30 per cent neighbourhood canopy, and green space within 300 metres (platform, page 48).
Who has the power to carry out the Green Party of Vancouver's Park Board plan?
Park Board commissioners control parks, community centres, pools and rinks, so they could act on most items. City Council approves the capital plan and the budget that funds the board, so pool rebuilds and the $6m the Greens promise need Council's vote. The Green Party of Vancouver also names City Council, the School Board and three Nations as partners (platform, pages 48 to 50).
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.
- Platform 2026, Green Party of Vancouver (72-page PDF, last updated September 29, 2026) SAYS SO ITSELFGreen Party of Vancouver · pages 48 to 50 · published · checked
- ABC Vancouver will run Park Board candidates and no longer seek to abolish the board; the Province withdrew the 2025 Vancouver Charter bill (13 July 2026) Daily Hive · checked
- Vancouver mayor says he won't try to eliminate the park board if re-elected (13 July 2026) CBC News, via Yahoo News Canada · checked