Vancouver reacts to new mayor Ken Sim's election sweep

Max Lindenthaler/Shutterstock | Ken Sim/ABC Vancouver

Vancouverites woke up to a new mayor-elect Sunday morning after Ken Sim’s ABC Party swept the election.

All 19 of ABC’s candidates got their seat, and the party now makes up a majority on City Council, the Park Board, and the School Board. The more right-leaning party beat incumbent Kennedy Stewart for mayor, and ousted several incumbent councillors.

BC Liberals leader Kevin Flacon was one of the first to congratulate the new mayor, saying his election as Vancouver’s first Chinese-Canadian mayor is a historic moment.

Congratulations to @KenSimCity on his election as the very first Chinese Canadian Mayor of Vancouver! This is an historic moment for #VancouverBC and I look forward to working with you and the entire city council going forward. #BCpoli

— Kevin Falcon (@KevinFalcon) October 16, 2022

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Canada’s former attorney general, Jody Wilson-Raybould, also congratulated Sim on his win.

Congratulations @KenSimCity on your election as the next mayor of Vancouver. @CityofVancouver

Also, sending congratulations to everybody elected tonight across our province + a BIG shoutout to all who put their names & ideas forward. 🙏🏽 https://t.co/pH8QeD8vqp

— Jody Wilson-Raybould (JWR), PC, OBC, KC 王州迪 (@Puglaas) October 16, 2022

Some Vancouver Police Department officers had happy-sounding tweets out on Sunday morning. Sim has promised to allocate more resources to the force, including hiring 100 more officers.

Happy Sunday #Vancouver and beyond! LOTS to be excited about today and it’s not just the weather.😁— Get out and seize the day! #CarpeDiem #TeamVPD #SundayMorning #Vancouver😎 pic.twitter.com/bLwKHA8Hv5

— Cst Holly Christie (@HChristie2104) October 16, 2022

Vancouver’s police union broke its longstanding tradition of staying out of politics this election to endorse Sim during his campaign.

Others pointed out billionaire Lululemon founder Chip Wilson attended Sim’s victory party, and shared concerns that Sim’s policies may favour the city’s wealthiest residents.

Chip Wilson is at ABC’s election headquarters, and that’s all you need to know about the future of Vancouver if Ken Sim is elected mayor tonight 🤦‍♀️ https://t.co/4sS93Swkbs

— Kaitlyn Reining (@kaitlynreining) October 16, 2022

@mads.ster I hope you’re hungry…for nothing to change #fyp #foryoupage #vancouver #vancouvertok #vancouverelection #elxn2022 #municipalelection #bcvotes ♬ original sound – Luke

However, Kris Sims with the Canadian Taxpayers Federation called Sim’s win “good news for taxpayers and commons sense,” pointing out that a proposed road toll plan for the downtown core probably won’t proceed.

📣This is good news for taxpayers & common sense.

The previous Vancouver city hall wanted to build a toll wall around the downtown core in their war on the car 🚙

The new mayor elect has vowed to scrap the toll wall road tax… what bureaucrats called “mobility/transport price.” https://t.co/8DjCS4Rjrr

— Kris Sims (@kris_sims) October 16, 2022

Incumbent Kennedy Stewart failed to secure a majority of votes, despite receiving endorsements from BC Health Minister Adrian Dix and federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh.

He thanked his supporters and volunteers who donated their time for his campaign.

I love this city, and I believe it should be a city for all of us. That’s what our campaign has been about.

I’m so proud of what we’ve accomplished – and it simply wouldn’t have been possible without our supporters, volunteers, and donors. Thank you, thank you, thank you. pic.twitter.com/4gaEJomNfo

— Kennedy Stewart (@kennedystewart) October 16, 2022

It was a similar message from former COPE city councillor Jean Swanson, who wasn’t re-elected.

“Hope you can take some time off and that we can all keep working for justice in our own ways,” she told her fellow candidates.

Thanks to all the awesome COPE folks for the huge amount of work u put into this effort and to our supporters. Hope u can take some time off and that we can all keep working for justice in our own ways. Onward, as my partner Sandy used to say. Justice is a long haul. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

— Jean Swanson (@JeanSwanson_) October 16, 2022

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