Vancouver In Common

We need a united front to defeat Ken Sim and his billionaire backers 

In 2022, Vote Socialist ran a single candidate for each level of city government: council, school board, and park board. Informed by listening circles and consultations with grassroots organizers, we developed and ran on a detailed platform we called “Vancouver for All.” And on voting day, tens of thousands of Vancouver residents cast a vote for one or more of our candidates. 

In that election, the centrist and left-of-centre parties were crushed by a right-wing wave as Ken Sim and ABC swept to power flush with money from the likes of libertarian billionaire and real estate speculator Chip Wilson. Their election was aided by the political climate created in part by well-funded far-right influencers like Aaron Gunn and Angelo Isidorou, two of the key organizers behind the BC Conservatives, who produced and disseminated the propaganda film “Vancouver Is Dying” – an effort in mass disinformation and fearmongering also supported by their billionaire patron Wilson. 

Conservative and far-right political forces are moving aggressively to win control of every level of political office in Canada and worldwide. In this context, the left needs to unite and must take seriously the work of organizing to influence, contest, and win elections.

In the interests of left unity and to maximize the potential for electing a representative of renters and working class people in Vancouver, Vote Socialist will not be nominating its own candidate in this year’s municipal by-election but will be encouraging supporters and activists to back the candidate who will: 

• Strongly advocate for the City to build public, coop and other social housing on city-owned land – and take real steps to end the frenzy of speculation and commodification of housing by advocating for vacancy control and for the City to have the Right of First Refusal on purchasing apartment buildings for sale. 

• Push for meaningful climate action that tangibly improves the lives of working-class people, such as expanded and fare-free public transit. 

• Refuse to vote for increases to the police budget that do nothing to contribute to public safety but in fact reduce the City budget available for urgently-needed public services. 

• Take concrete action to make Vancouver a Solidarity City, protecting workers and defending migrants and refugees under attack in this new era of far-right politics. 

In recent discussions initiated by the Coalition of Progressive Electors (COPE), we are encouraged by COPE’s openness to uniting with others on the left towards achieving these ends. We look forward to working with COPE and other left organizations to help to elect a champion for renters and workers in Vancouver in the upcoming municipal by-election. 

To win City Hall in 2026, the left will have to unite and broaden its appeal to elect a majority on city council. Voters at all levels are rejecting centrist defenders of the status quo. By coming together around a bold and transformative political agenda, and by building grassroots political power in all Vancouver’s neighbourhoods, we can defeat Sim and ABC.