Progressives win both Vancouver council seats in byelection, weakening ABC majority | CBC News
The political party that swept to power in Vancouver’s 2022 civic election has taken a hit to its majority on council, after both seats in Saturday’s byelection were won by progressive candidates.
According to unofficial results, Sean Orr — a housing activist, landscaper and dishwasher running with the Coalition of Progressive Electors (COPE) — received 34,448 votes. He was followed closely by OneCity’s Lucy Maloney, an environmental lawyer, who secured 33,732 votes out of the 67,962 ballots cast.
The next closest candidate, Colleen Hardwick of TEAM for a Livable Vancouver, finished with 17,352 votes.
There were 13 candidates who competed to fill the two vacancies left by former OneCity councillor Christine Boyle, now an MLA, and former Green councillor Adriane Carr, who retired in January.
Orr campaigned against what he calls the “disproportionate political power of the rich” in Vancouver, and for protecting tenants from demovictions, or demolition driven evictions, and exploitation while also combating homelessness.
Maloney campaigned to restore the city’s renter advocacy office to strengthen tenant protections and push for the mental health nurses ABC promised during the 2022 campaign.
“You have voted for progressive and principled opposition. And that’s what I will deliver,” she wrote in a post on X following her win.
In 2022, Mayor Ken Sim and the ABC Vancouver Party won seven of the 10 council seats. While still holding a majority, the party has lost its super majority to parties on the left and centre-left.
ABC had hoped to extend its majority with candidates Jaime Stein, an ex-B.C. United candidate, and Ralph Kaisers, a police officer with a 30-year career and the head of the Vancouver Police Department’s union.
Mayor Sim addressed supporters earlier in the evening, saying: “While the results tonight didn’t go the way that we hoped for …we look forward to working with the two elected officials.”
ABC candidate Stein said he was proud of the campaign and thanked voters for their support.
“We weren’t negative. We didn’t punch down…. I’m incredibly proud of the campaign we ran.”
Vote counting in Vancouver’s two-seat city council byelection was delayed, with the city confirming that results wouldn’t be released until all remaining voters in line at the 25 polling stations have cast their ballots. Chad Pawson reports.
The byelection drew high turnout for a municipal vote. The last byelection in the city was held in 2017, when only about 11 per cent of voters came out.
Ballot counting was delayed after several polling locations reported long lineups at 8 p.m., the official close of polls.
CBC News received multiple reports of long lines at polling stations across the city, including Strathcona Community Centre and Kitsilano War Memorial Community Centre, with some locations seeing about 100 people waiting to vote well past the official close of polls at 8 p.m.
Official election results will be declared on April 9 before 4 p.m.
Long lineups were reported at polling stations across Vancouver on Saturday as voters cast ballots in a two-seat city council byelection. In a statement Saturday afternoon, a city spokesperson attributed the delays to “significantly higher voter turnout.” Justin McElroy breaks down what led to the lengthy waits.
