Pete Fry Defeats Incumbent Ken Sim to Become Vancouver’s Next Mayor

Green Party of Vancouver candidate and incumbent City Councillor Pete Fry defeated incumbent Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim in the city’s Oct. 17 election to become the next mayor.

Unofficial results show that Fry received 98,494 votes, while Sim received 67,467. Six other candidates ran in the race, with former City Councillor Colleen Hardwick coming in a distant third with 18,105 votes.

Fry celebrated his win with his mother, long-time Liberal MP Hedy Fry, onstage at a campaign party in Vancouver. He said he was elected because he put values ahead of partisan issues and that he would take an idealistic approach during his tenure as mayor.

“The values that we bring are about respect for the earth, participatory democracy, working together, non-violence, being supportive, being nice. And I think that’s really where we can shine,” he said.

Fry, who worked as a self-employed graphic artist, was first elected to city council in 2018. His party’s platform for the Oct. 17 race included sections covering sustainable growth, affordable living, safety and well-being, economic development, and good government.

After winning the election, he said his priorities include housing and working with the province on community safety.

Fry said his immediate priority is delivering a city budget. He also emphasized that he wouldn’t get mired in partisan politics.

“My priority is to get folks who are working for the betterment of Vancouver—not their political interests, not their partisan interests, but they want to get stuff done for Vancouverites. That’s where we’re going to make a difference.”

B.C. municipal elections saw a number of other incumbents also ousted. These included Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke, who lost to former Mayor Doug McCallum; Kamloops Mayor Reid Hamer-Jackson, who lost to City Councillor Mike O’Reiley; and Prince George Mayor Simon Yu, who lost to City Councillor Garth Frizzell.

The Vancouver vote also included a two-question plebiscite called for by Sim. One question asked whether residents support the city “strengthening its laws to forbid open-air hard drug use in public spaces,” while the other asked whether the city should request that the province convert portions of the former St. Paul’s Hospital into a “secure medical facility” with more than 100 involuntary care beds.

The results of the two plebiscite questions will be released on Oct. 21.

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.