Pete Fry defeats Ken Sim to become Vancouver’s new mayor

Pete Fry, leader of the Green Party of Vancouver, has been elected the city’s new mayor, defeating ABC Vancouver’s Ken Sim. Fry took an early lead as results came in and held it. At the time of publication, 10:42 p.m., Fry had 57,194 votes, followed by Sim with 41,040 and TEAM For A Livable Vancouver’s Colleen Hardwick with 10,492. Sim also delivered a concession speech to Fry.

Fry is the first mayor elected under a Green party banner in any major Canadian city. He was also the Vancouver Green party’s first mayoral candidate in 30 years. More than a month earlier, OneCity mayoral candidate William Azaroff announced he was leaving the race, after COPE Vancouver mayoral candidate Stephanie Allen had done the same; the two declared Fry the unified progressive leader.

Fry said wood-frame construction presents an opportunity to support B.C. communities that depend on forestry and have been shaken by tariffs on Canadian forestry products imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump. He said he would expand four- to six-storey wood-frame buildings across the city using single-egress staircases, which allow more usable floor space. Fry said wood construction is cheaper and faster, and can create more liveable spaces with larger units and ground-oriented designs. He also said he would bring back the Renters’ Office.

In a recent interview with Daily Hive Urbanized, Fry called himself the antidote to Sim if elected. “If you’re dissatisfied with the last four years and where things are going with Ken Sim, then I’m the antidote to that,” he said.

Fry said one of his biggest concerns about Vancouver is its governance. He believes many of the city’s problems stem from poor governance and a lack of transparency and accountability. “Under the Vancouver Charter and Local Government Act, we’re supposed to conduct ourselves in a certain way, and I don’t see that happening,” he said.

Fry said the city has seen many rezoning proposals and “moved lots of paper,” but new homes are not being built “in a meaningful way.” He acknowledged that a slow economy, U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs, federal policies to reduce immigration and the foreign buyer ban have hampered the construction industry. Presales have slowed, leaving developers unable to finance projects; most banks require about 60 per cent of a project’s units to be presold before they will provide financing.