Rough ride for some incumbents: B.C.’s municipal elections at a glance

British Columbia’s municipal elections have dealt a tough hand to some incumbent candidates. Vancouver and Surrey, the province’s two largest cities, saw their mayors, Ken Sim and Pete Fry respectively, ousted by voters. Fry, a Green candidate, will make history as Vancouver’s first Green mayor, topping the poll with over 98,000 votes.

Sim, a businessman who once claimed a council majority, is now the runner-up with 67,000 votes. Mike Klassen’s OneCity Vancouver party secured one of the nine seats won by progressive candidates. In Surrey, Doug McCallum is returning for a third term after defeating incumbent Brenda Locke. McCallum, 82, defeated Locke for the first time in 2022.

In Victoria and Saanich, voters approved a non-binding ballot question to amalgamate the two municipalities, supported by 62 per cent in Victoria and 68 per cent in Saanich. Kamloops' Reid Hamer-Jackson, who served tumultuous tenure, was defeated by Mike O’Reilly, a former councillor. O’Reilly won 44 per cent of the vote. Prince George’s Simon Yu was soundly defeated by Garth Frizzell in a tight three-way race, with Frizzell winning 28 per cent of the vote.

Richmond will see its first new mayor in 25 years, as Rob Howard narrowly defeats former Olympian Alexa Loo. Howard, a former provincial legislator, received nearly 20,000 votes. Finally, Brad West, one of British Columbia’s most popular mayors, is re-elected in Port Coquitlam with an overwhelming 90 per cent of the vote.