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VANCOUVER MUNICIPAL ELECTION 2026

How Vancouver’s candidates, parties and people connect

129 candidates, 11 parties and 29 connections with a source. Search a name or pick a glowing dot.

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Every connection, written out

What the graph shows

Every candidate on the October 17, 2026 ballot runs with a party or on their own. The graph draws those party lists, then adds the connections that reporters have documented: relatives, party changes, agreements between parties, and who founded, led or worked for whom.

Each line comes with a source you can open. Party lists come from the City of Vancouver’s official candidate lists. Where reports disagree, the line says so and names each outlet.

Candidates
129
Parties on the ballot
11
Connections with a source
29
People and parties outside the race
5

Every connection with a source

29 connections, newest first within each group. Party lists are on the party pages. Sources were last read on September 24, 2026.

Earlier parties 18

Candidates who once ran or sat with another party.

  1. Armor Valor and OneCity

    sought OneCity slot, 2026May 28, 2026

    Armor Valor was one of OneCity’s council nominees but was not among the four chosen in the party’s membership vote. In late May 2026 he announced a run with the Vancouver Liberals.

  2. Rebecca Bligh and ABC Vancouver

    in ABC until Feb 2025February 14, 2025

    Rebecca Bligh joined ABC Vancouver on April 11, 2022 and was re-elected that October. ABC removed her from its caucus on February 14, 2025, saying she was not aligned with its shared priorities. She sat as an independent councillor until she launched Vote Vancouver.

  3. Victoria Jung and ABC Vancouver

    left ABC, Aug 2024August 7, 2024

    Victoria Jung was elected school trustee in 2022 with ABC Vancouver. She announced on August 7, 2024 that she was leaving ABC, and stayed on as an independent trustee and school board chair. She joined the Vancouver Liberals in January 2026.

  4. Scott Jensen and ABC Vancouver

    left ABC, Dec 2023December 6, 2023

    Scott Jensen was elected to the Park Board in 2022 with ABC Vancouver. On December 6, 2023, the day Mayor Ken Sim announced a plan to end the elected Park Board, Jensen and two other commissioners said ABC had removed them. Sim said no one had been removed. All three sat as independents. Jensen joined the Vancouver Liberals in January 2026.

  5. Steve Cardwell and Vision Vancouver

    ran for Vision, 2022October 2022

    Steve Cardwell was a Vision Vancouver candidate for school trustee in 2022 and was not elected. He is now a OneCity candidate.

  6. John Irwin and Vision Vancouver

    ran for Vision, 2022October 2022

    John Irwin ran for the Park Board again in the October 2022 election as a Vision Vancouver candidate and was not elected. He is now a OneCity candidate.

  7. Tricia Barker and TEAM for a Livable Vancouver

    joined TEAM slate, Sept 2022September 1, 2022

    Tricia Barker left the NPA on September 1, 2022 to run for TEAM for a Livable Vancouver. She now runs with the Vancouver Liberals.

  8. Tricia Barker and Non-Partisan Association (NPA)

    left NPA, Sept 2022September 1, 2022

    Tricia Barker was first elected to the Park Board in 2018 on the NPA slate. On September 1, 2022 she and Kumi Kimura left the NPA to run for TEAM for a Livable Vancouver, which left the NPA with no incumbent park commissioner seeking re-election.

  9. John Coupar and Non-Partisan Association (NPA)

    NPA mayoral pick, to Aug 2022August 2022

    John Coupar won three elections to the Park Board with the NPA. The NPA board named him its 2022 mayoral candidate on April 5, 2021, and he resigned as that candidate in August 2022. He is now a Vancouver Liberals candidate for council.

  10. Arezo Zarrabian and Non-Partisan Association (NPA)

    NPA council candidate, 2022May 2022

    Arezo Zarrabian was named an NPA candidate for city council in May 2022 and was not elected. She is now an ABC Vancouver candidate for council.

  11. John Irwin and COPE

    left COPE, March 2022March 17, 2022

    John Irwin was elected to the Park Board in 2018 as a COPE candidate. On March 17, 2022 he left COPE for Vision Vancouver and sat as a Vision commissioner for the rest of the term.

  12. Christopher JK Richardson and ABC Vancouver

    dropped by ABC, 20222022

    Christopher JK Richardson was on the 2022 ballot as an ABC Vancouver school board candidate. ABC removed him during the campaign, and voters elected him anyway. He has sat as an independent since.

  13. Lisa Dominato and Non-Partisan Association (NPA)

    left NPA, April 2021April 21, 2021

    Lisa Dominato was elected to council with the NPA in 2018. She left the party on April 21, 2021 with Sarah Kirby-Yung and Colleen Hardwick, and joined ABC Vancouver on April 11, 2022.

  14. Sarah Kirby-Yung and Non-Partisan Association (NPA)

    left NPA, April 2021April 21, 2021

    Sarah Kirby-Yung was elected to council with the NPA in 2018. She left the party on April 21, 2021 with Lisa Dominato and Colleen Hardwick, and joined ABC Vancouver on April 11, 2022.

  15. Colleen Hardwick and Non-Partisan Association (NPA)

    left NPA, April 2021April 21, 2021

    Colleen Hardwick won a council seat with the NPA in 2018. On April 21, 2021 she left the party, together with Lisa Dominato and Sarah Kirby-Yung, after the NPA board named John Coupar its 2022 mayoral candidate. She sat as an independent and joined TEAM for a Livable Vancouver in September 2021.

  16. Rebecca Bligh and Non-Partisan Association (NPA)

    left NPA, Dec 2019December 6, 2019

    Rebecca Bligh was elected to council with the NPA in 2018. She left the party on December 6, 2019, citing concerns about new members of the NPA board, and sat as an independent until she joined ABC Vancouver in April 2022.

  17. Ken Sim and Non-Partisan Association (NPA)

    NPA candidate for mayor, 20182018

    Ken Sim ran for mayor with the NPA in 2018 and lost to Kennedy Stewart by 957 votes. He won the 2022 mayoral election as the ABC Vancouver candidate.

  18. Mike Klassen and Non-Partisan Association (NPA)

    NPA council candidate, 20112011

    Mike Klassen ran for council with the NPA in 2011 and finished 779 votes behind Green councillor Adriane Carr, who took the last seat. He won a council seat in 2022 as an ABC Vancouver candidate.

Family 2

Relatives named in published reporting.

  1. Colleen Hardwick and Kat Nystedt

    mother and daughter

    Kat Nystedt, TEAM for a Livable Vancouver’s first school board candidate for 2026, is the daughter of Colleen Hardwick, TEAM’s candidate for mayor.

  2. Hedy Fry and Pete Fry

    mother and son

    Pete Fry, the Green Party of Vancouver’s candidate for mayor, is the son of Hedy Fry, the Liberal Member of Parliament for Vancouver Centre.

Support and agreements 4

Who backed whom, who stepped aside, and which parties made a deal.

  1. William Azaroff and Pete Fry

    backed Fry, Sept 8September 8, 2026

    When he stepped aside, William Azaroff backed Green councillor Pete Fry as the one remaining progressive candidate. Daily Hive reports that he endorsed Fry. The Tyee reports that he and Stephanie Allen implied their support without an explicit endorsement, and cites uncertainty about Elections BC rules on endorsing another party.

  2. William Azaroff and OneCity

    ended mayoral run, Sept 8September 8, 2026

    William Azaroff, OneCity’s candidate for mayor, ended his campaign on September 8, 2026.

  3. Stephanie Allen and COPE

    ended mayoral run, Sept 2September 2, 2026

    Stephanie Allen, COPE’s candidate for mayor, ended her campaign on September 2, 2026 and urged the other progressive candidates to unite behind one person. CBC reported that she endorsed neither the Greens nor OneCity.

  4. OneCity, Green Party of Vancouver and COPE

    April 2026 agreementApril 15, 2026

    On April 15, 2026, COPE, OneCity and the Green Party of Vancouver announced that each would run up to 13 candidates for council, school board and park board combined. Each party may still run its own candidate for mayor.

Leaders and staff 5

Who started or leads a party, and who worked for whom.

  1. Rebecca Bligh and Vote Vancouver

    launched the party, Sept 2025September 22, 2025

    Rebecca Bligh launched Vote Vancouver and announced her run for mayor on September 22, 2025. ABC Vancouver had removed her from its caucus in February 2025.

  2. Kareem Allam and Vancouver Liberals

    founded the party, July 2025July 3, 2025

    Kareem Allam founded the Vancouver Liberals, which registered with Elections BC on July 3, 2025, and leads the party. He is its candidate for mayor.

  3. Stephen Molnar and ABC Vancouver

    party presidentApril 2025

    Stephen Molnar is the president of ABC Vancouver. Global News named him in that role in February 2025 and The Walrus in April 2025.

  4. Kareem Allam and Ken Sim

    chief of staff, to Feb 2023February 2023

    After the October 2022 election, Kareem Allam became Mayor Ken Sim’s first chief of staff. He left the job in February 2023, 89 days after it began, according to the Vancouver Sun.

  5. Kareem Allam and ABC Vancouver

    ABC campaign manager, 2022October 2022

    Kareem Allam managed ABC Vancouver’s campaign in the 2022 election, which ABC won.

How this graph was built

Party lists are read from the City of Vancouver’s official candidate lists for mayor, council, park board and school trustee. Naomi Chocyk stands for both council and school board, so she is one circle that shows under both offices.

Every other line needs at least one source from a news outlet, a public record or a reference work. A party’s own website tells only the party’s side, so no connection here rests on it. Where no source reports a link between two names, the graph draws none.

The layout program places each candidate near their party and pulls connected names closer together. The exact position of a circle has no other meaning. Circles are people, squares are parties, and colour follows the party colours used across voche.me, lightened so they show on the dark background.

The graph is drawn with falkordb-canvas, free software released under the MIT license. Read the licenses.

Spotted a mistake or a missing connection? Tell the editors and name the page and the source.

Questions about these connections

Are any candidates in Vancouver’s 2026 election related to each other?

Yes. Kat Nystedt, TEAM for a Livable Vancouver’s first school board candidate for 2026, is the daughter of Colleen Hardwick, TEAM’s candidate for mayor. Pete Fry, the Green Party of Vancouver’s candidate for mayor, is the son of Hedy Fry, the Liberal Member of Parliament for Vancouver Centre. Reporters named both relationships, and each is listed with its sources on this page.

Which 2026 Vancouver candidates ran or sat with a different party before?

15 candidates have an earlier party that a published source documents: Armor Valor, Steve Cardwell, John Irwin, Christopher JK Richardson, Victoria Jung, Scott Jensen, Mike Klassen, Arezo Zarrabian, Ken Sim, Tricia Barker, John Coupar, Rebecca Bligh, Lisa Dominato, Sarah Kirby-Yung and Colleen Hardwick. 9 of these earlier ties lead to the Non-Partisan Association, which has no candidates on the 2026 ballot.

Did any Vancouver parties make an agreement about the 2026 election?

Yes. On April 15, 2026, COPE, OneCity and the Green Party of Vancouver announced that each would run up to 13 candidates for council, school board and park board combined. Each party may still run its own candidate for mayor.

Who withdrew from Vancouver’s 2026 mayoral race?

William Azaroff, OneCity’s candidate for mayor, ended his campaign on September 8, 2026. Stephanie Allen, COPE’s candidate for mayor, ended her campaign on September 2, 2026 and urged the other progressive candidates to unite behind one person. CBC reported that she endorsed neither the Greens nor OneCity. When he stepped aside, William Azaroff backed Green councillor Pete Fry as the one remaining progressive candidate. Daily Hive reports that he endorsed Fry. The Tyee reports that he and Stephanie Allen implied their support without an explicit endorsement, and cites uncertainty about Elections BC rules on endorsing another party.

Is the Non-Partisan Association running candidates in 2026?

No. The Non-Partisan Association (NPA) has no candidates on the 2026 ballot, according to the Daily Hive list of ballot entries published September 22, 2026.

CORRECTIONS

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