Appeal court pauses Vancouver Aquatic Centre demolition until early November | Daily Hive

The existing Vancouver Aquatic Centre. (Stephanie Braconnier/Shutterstock)

The B.C. Court of Appeal has temporarily halted any further demolition work of the closed Vancouver Aquatic Centre, where a highly controversial planned redevelopment would replace the aging 50-metre lap pool with a 25-metre pool for the new facility’s main tank.

Protecting Our Vancouver Aquatic Centre Society and TEAM for a Livable Vancouver announced today that appeal judge Justice Dickson had granted an interim injunction following an application by the society.

However, the injunction is highly temporary — running until Nov. 3, 2026, just one day after the newly elected Vancouver Park Board’s inaugural meeting, scheduled for Nov. 2.

This also comes shortly after the civic election on Saturday, Oct. 17, when Vancouver residents choose a mayor, city councillors, Park Board commissioners, and School Board trustees.

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The injunction does not cancel the redevelopment, require the municipal government to pivot to a 50-metre pool in the replacement facility concept at this time, or overturn the earlier ruling that rejected the society’s legal challenge.

“This is momentous. Interim injunctions are among the hardest things to win in any court, and we just won one against the City. The Court didn’t decide what kind of pool Vancouver gets — it made sure the people’s representatives still get to decide,” said Jonathan Girard, a director of the society and a Park Board candidate under TEAM.

According to the society, the order covers interior demolition, stripping, and site preparation, as well as dismantling the building’s exterior, interior structures and pool basins.

The City and Park Board can apply to change the order to allow hazardous-materials removal that would preserve the building. The society says they must give it two days’ notice of such an application, which would return to Justice Dickson.

The society also said it was not required to promise to compensate the City for losses from the delay if the injunction were later found to have been wrongly granted.

The municipal government was aiming to begin major construction work in late 2026 or early 2027 for a completion and opening in 2029. While a $3.5-million contract was awarded to Heatherbrae Builders in July 2026 to carry out the demolition work, the municipal government has yet to award the substantial contract to build the brand-new complex.

The existing Vancouver Aquatic Centre. (Stephanie Braconnier/Shutterstock)

The temporary demolition injunction follows the September 2026 defeat for the society in the Supreme Court of British Columbia. That separate case centred on whether the municipal government could use $103 million in borrowing approved by voters — in the capital plan plebiscite question held during the 2022 civic election — to replace the aquatic centre with a facility containing a 25-metre lap pool.

The society argued that the public’s borrowing approval depended on retaining a 50-metre pool, pointing to the City’s capital plan and information distributed before the vote. However, judge presiding over that case found that the City and Park Board could reasonably proceed with the 25-metre concept under that approval. The society is also hoping to appeal this particular decision, with $115,000 cumulatively raised to date through crowdfunding to enable the society to cover its court challenges and advocacy costs.

The $175-million approved project design concept includes a leisure pool, a diving pool, a hot tub, and a fitness gym, in addition to the 25-metre, eight-lane lap pool. All of this would be built within the same land area of the existing facility.

Vancouver Aquatic Centre opened in 1974 and permanently closed on June 28, 2026 to enable preparations for the start of its demolition process. The society was previously unsuccessful in its previous application to the Supreme Court of B.C. to stop the facility’s closure at the start of summer. Demolition had been scheduled to begin on Oct. 1.

vancouver aquatic centre 2025 design new

2025 concept of the new Vancouver Aquatic Centre with a 25-metre lap pool. (MJMA Architecture & Design/Acton Ostry Architects/Vancouver Park Board)

2025 concept of the new Vancouver Aquatic Centre with a 25-metre lap pool. (MJMA Architecture & Design/Acton Ostry Architects/Vancouver Park Board)

In recent months, the controversy over the project has become an election issue.

In addition to Girard, fellow society leader Mayeli Alvarez is also running for a Park Board commissioner seat under TEAM, led by mayoral candidate Colleen Hardwick. So far, TEAM has been most outspoken in its opposition to the current aquatic centre redevelopment plan, with the party promising to achieve a new facility with a 50-metre pool at this location at Sunset Beach Park on Downtown Vancouver’s West End waterfront.

“We deserve a say in how our public facilities are renewed,” said Alvarez.

During the election campaign, Ken Sim’s ABC Vancouver and Kareem Allams’ Vancouver Liberals party have also promised to pivot this particular project from a 25-metre pool to a 50-metre pool.

The platforms of Pete Fry’s Green Party of Vancouver, Rebecca Bligh’s Vote Vancouver party, and the OneCity Vancouver party also commit to building a 50-metre pool, but not through a design change of the Vancouver Aquatic Centre redevelopment. These parties acknowledge the need to build a new additional modern 50-metre pool, but in another area of Vancouver.

Many of the swim clubs and other groups that have relied on the Vancouver Aquatic Centre for decades require a 50-metre pool to meet their training and recreational needs. The facility has also served as a training ground for competitive swimmers, including some who went on to represent Canada at the Olympics.

Hillcrest Centre, which houses the only other indoor 50-metre pool within Vancouver’s municipal boundaries, is already heavily used and is intended to temporarily accommodate the displaced clubs and groups. Alternatives are limited by a broader shortage of 50-metre pools across the Metro Vancouver region.

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