Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim urges province against election amid municipal campaign

Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim has called on the provincial government in British Columbia to refrain from holding an early election until after the upcoming municipal voting scheduled for October 17. Sim asserts that the municipal election warrants the “full, undivided attention” of residents and should not be overshadowed by an early vote.

Premier David Eby had instructed NDP legislators in the previous week to be “election ready,” leading to widespread speculation about the potential call for an early vote. Sim's perspective aligns with that of the Union of B.C. Municipalities, which recently passed a motion urging the provincial government to safeguard the integrity of local elections by avoiding overlapping campaigns.

During a press conference on Monday to unveil his ABC Vancouver party's platform, Sim emphasized that his priorities include tackling public safety and street disorder, affordability, accountability at City Hall, and job creation and the economy. The ABC party has pledged to ban open-air hard drug use in public spaces, commit to a zero-per-cent property tax increase by 2027, and undertake the reconstruction of the Vancouver Aquatic Centre and the revitalization of the Granville Street entertainment district.

Sim, a businessman, initially contested the mayoral position in 2018 with the Non-Partisan Association and narrowly lost to Kennedy Stewart. However, he managed to secure victory with ABC in the 2022 election.