59% of Vancouverites are looking for change in this year's municipal election
A recent poll suggests that 59 per cent of people in Vancouver are looking for a change from Mayor Ken Sim and his ABC party this upcoming election.
Twenty-seven per cent of respondents “think Sim and ABC have shown that their policies do not work for Vancouver and want different ideas to make Vancouver better,” according to an online survey of a representative sample of 401 adults from Research Co., a local polling organization.
Another 32 per cent want a change in leadership, but not a significant change in policy, saying that “Sim and ABC have not kept their key promises.”
But 27 per cent hope to re-elect Sim and the ABC party in place.
A more progressive council?
In April 2025, Sean Orr, with the party Coalition of Progressive Electors (COPE), and Lucy Maloney, with the party OneCity Vancouver, won seats as city councillors in a by-election.
The poll suggests that 44 per cent of Vancouverites think the city “definitely” or “probably” needs more councillors, “with the kind of progressive and left-wing views that Orr and Maloney represent.”
The poll also found that 59 per cent of Vancouverites said they want a mayor like Zohran Mamdani, who was elected in New York City last year on a platform that called for significant changes to support the working class.
Similar to Mamdani, Amanda Burrows, who is currently seeking a mayoral nomination with OneCity, has pitched a plan to try to keep grocery costs affordable.
She said she would pilot a “community food trust,” where the city could purchase at-risk stores and protect them from closure — like Sunrise Market, a long-serving, family-owned grocery store in Chinatown that was listed for sale late last year.
Likewise, William Azaroff, who is competing with Burrows for the OneCity mayoral nomination, said he would build 4,000 City-owned, affordable homes.
But 23 per cent said a socialist mayor like Mamdami is “too risky for Vancouver, will undermine investment in the city, and see a return to the soft-on-crime approaches of previous councils.”
Who else is running for mayor?
Current city councillor Pete Fry announced in January that he would run for Vancouver mayor with the Green Party of Vancouver, saying that public safety is a key pillar of his campaign.
Kareem Allam, who served as the former chief of staff for Mayor Ken Sim, is running for mayor with the Vancouver Liberals.
At the time of his announcement in June 2025, he said he was running because he opposed ABC’s property tax increases (since then, ABC pushed forward a zero per cent property tax increase for 2026), decampment strategy in the Downtown Eastside, and proposal to remove the separately elected Vancouver Park Board.
City Councillor Rebecca Bligh, who was “ejected” from ABC in February 2025, is also running for mayor under her new Vote Vancouver party. She said she would focus on affordability, building homes, and making “life better in every corner of the city.”
In an interview with Daily Hive, Ken Sim outlined what his priorities are heading into the next election. He said his focus remains on governing and things like public safety, affordability, and preparing for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The Vancouver mayoral election will take place on Oct. 17, 2026.
What are your thoughts on the upcoming election?
With files from Kenneth Chan and Amir Ali