Mayor Ken Sim's support is higher among homeowners than renters: survey | Daily Hive

Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive

A new public opinion survey suggests Vancouver’s mayoral race remains wide open, with more than one-third of voters still undecided and no candidate holding a statistically clear lead.

The survey conducted by Pallas Data found Green Party of Vancouver mayoral candidate Pete Fry with the highest level of support at 18.1 per cent, followed by incumbent ABC Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim at 13.8 per cent and Vancouver Liberals candidate Kareem Allam at 11.5 per cent.

TEAM For A Livable Vancouver’s Colleen Hardwick was at 10.5 per cent, Coalition of Progressive Electors’ (COPE) Stephanie Allen at six per cent, OneCity Vancouver’s William Azaroff at 3.5 per cent, and Vote Vancouver’s Rebecca Bligh at 2.9 per cent. Another 33.8 per cent of respondents were undecided.

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However, the differences between the leading candidates should be viewed very cautiously. The survey has an overall margin of error of plus or minus 5.5 per cent, 19 times out of 20, meaning Fry’s 4.3 per cent advantage over Mayor Sim is within the survey’s margin of error. Between July 20 and 24, 2026, Pallas Data surveyed 312 Vancouver adults who are eligible to vote in the civic election.

It should also be noted that the survey was conducted by Toronto-based Pallas Data and commissioned by the Conservative Electors Association (Vancouver Conservatives). Moreover, the Conservative Electors Association and the Vancouver Liberals are not related to the provincial and federal parties of the same name.

The survey was conducted just under three months before the civic election, scheduled for Oct. 17, 2026.

The results also suggest some possible differences based on gender.

Among women, Fry recorded 19.6 per cent support, followed by Allam at 15.5 per cent, Hardwick at 11.9 per cent, and Sim at 8.9 per cent.

Among men, Sim was the top choice at 19 per cent, followed by Fry at 16.5 per cent. Allam drew 7.3 per cent support from men, less than half of his level of support among women.

There is also a large pool of voters who have not yet made up their minds. About 36.4 per cent of men, 31.2 per cent of women, 41.3 per cent of respondents aged 18 to 34, and 40.8 per cent of those aged 35 to 49 were undecided.

But the age breakdown shows Fry performing slightly stronger among older voters. He received 24.4 per cent support among respondents aged 65 and older and 22.8 per cent among those aged 50 to 64. Sim received 20 per cent among those aged 65 and older and 15.6 per cent from those aged 50 to 64.

Housing status also reveals a possible divide among voters.

Among homeowners, Sim received 18.3 per cent support, slightly ahead of Fry at 16.8 per cent. Hardwick saw 11.5 per cent, Allam 10.7 per cent, Allen 4.9 per cent, Bligh 3.7 per cent, and Azaroff 3.2 per cent.

Among renters, Fry led at 19 per cent, while Allam and Hardwick received 11.5 per cent and 9.6 per cent, respectively. Sim’s support level is at 6.9 per cent among renters.

It should also be noted that renters were also more undecided in the mayoral race, with 40 per cent yet to prefer a candidate compared with 30.8 per cent of homeowners.

“Which of the following candidates for Mayor of Vancouver would you vote for?” (July 20 to 24, 2026). (Pallas Data)

The survey separately asked Vancouver voters whether they approve or disapprove of Sim’s performance as mayor. Overall, 28.4 per cent approved of his performance, including 8.2 per cent who strongly approved and 20.2 per cent who somewhat approved.

By comparison, 47.4 per cent disapproved of Sim, including 33.7 per cent who strongly disapproved and 13.7 per cent who somewhat disapproved. Another 14.4 per cent neither approved nor disapproved, while 9.8 per cent were unsure.

Sim’s highest level of disapproval was among respondents aged 50 to 64, with 58.2 per cent saying they somewhat or strongly disapproved. Among those aged 18 to 34, 39.2 per cent disapproved, while another 25.9 per cent said they neither approved nor disapproved.

Women were also more likely to disapprove of Sim’s performance than men. About 50.3 per cent of women disapproved, compared with 44.4 per cent of men.

One notable result is the response from homeowners. Among homeowners, 41.1 per cent said they strongly disapproved of Sim’s performance, compared with 23.5 per cent of renters. When somewhat and strongly disapprove responses are combined, 51.2 per cent of homeowners disapproved.

The poll also asked respondents which party’s candidates they would support for Vancouver City Council.

The Vancouver Greens were highest at 12.7 per cent, closely followed by the Liberals at 12.1 per cent. COPE saw 10.5 per cent, ABC 9.9 per cent, TEAM 6.8 per cent, the Vancouver Conservatives 6.6 per cent, OneCity Vancouver 2.3 per cent, and Vote Vancouver 0.5 per cent.

But the largest group by a wide margin was again voters without a firm preference, with 38.5 per cent undecided on their City Council vote.

The homeowner-renter divide was particularly pronounced for the Greens and ABC.

The Greens received 20 per cent support among renters compared with 9.4 per cent among homeowners. ABC showed almost the reverse pattern, with 13.3 per cent support from homeowners but just 4.3 per cent from renters.

The Liberals saw 13.4 per cent support among renters and 10.8 per cent from homeowners, while COPE received 11.8 per cent and eight per cent, respectively.

This past spring, COPE, OneCity, and the Greens reached a cooperation agreement aimed at reducing vote-splitting among the left-wing/progressive parties.

Under the deal, each party agreed to run no more than five candidates for the 10 seats on City Council, while COPE and the Greens can each run up to four candidates for both School Board and Park Board. OneCity can run up to five for School Board and three for Park Board. As well, each party is limited to a maximum of 13 non-mayoral candidates overall.

These three left-wing/progressive parties also ultimately agreeing that each could nominate its own mayoral candidate, while making a good faith effort to determine which candidate is best positioned to compete in the civic election.

That has left COPE’s Allen, OneCity’s Azaroff, and the Greens’ Fry campaigning for mayor for now. Although the parties have followed through on limiting their candidate slates for the other elected bodies, it remains to be seen whether the mayoral cooperation will ultimately result in two of the three candidates stepping aside to consolidate support behind one left-wing/progressive contender. Based on this latest survey, the mayoral candidate for the Greens appears to have a potential edge.

The City’s nomination period runs between Sept. 4 and 11, but candidates who have filed their paperwork have until Sept. 18 to formally withdraw.

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