Ken Sim backs mayor-elect Pete Fry as ABC-led Vancouver council says goodbye

Outgoing Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim offered his support to mayor-elect Pete Fry as departing councillors gave their final remarks at the 106th Vancouver City Council’s last meeting of the term. They reflected on their losses in this month’s civic election, the demands public office placed on their families and the work they hoped would endure after they left City Hall. The meeting was held on the morning of Monday, Oct. 27, 2026. The new council is scheduled to be sworn in on Nov. 2.

The incoming council will include five Green Party of Vancouver members, including Fry, four COPE councillors, and one councillor each from OneCity Vancouver and ABC Vancouver. Most will be new to the job. Its 11 members will be Fry; Green councillors Annette Reilly, Stephanie Smith and Bridget Burns, along with former Vancouver Park Board commissioner Camil Dumont; COPE councillors Chloe Leslie, Devyani Singh, Solomon Yi-Kieran and incumbent Sean Orr; and returning OneCity Vancouver councillor Lucy Maloney and ABC councillor Mike Klassen. Klassen is the only ABC councillor who won re-election.

The civic election results earlier this month gave the Greens the largest contingent on council, but no party won an outright majority. Green, OneCity and COPE candidates also won every seat on the Park Board and Vancouver School Board. COPE holds a majority on the Park Board and has the largest contingent on the school board.

Addressing Fry directly, Sim said, “And all I got to say is you’re our mayor. You’re my mayor. Damn proud of you.” He later added, “Pete, knock it out of the park, buddy.” The outgoing ABC mayor warned that the job could be lonely and bring intense criticism. He urged Fry to remain true to his values and offered to help if needed. Sim also encouraged councillors who lost their seats to take pride in having put their names forward for public office.

Despite disagreements that drew public attention, Sim said councillors from different parties often voted the same way and shared a concern for Vancouver’s future. He thanked his colleagues for their service and lively debates, and for caring about the city regardless of their political views. He told those who were not re-elected that losing was not a bad thing: many people talk about contributing, he said, but few run for office, and fewer still earn the privilege of being elected and serving their city.

Sim thanked his family and recalled seeking their support before the 2018 civic election, when he first ran for mayor under the Non-Partisan Association. At the time, he said, he did not fully understand what his involvement in politics would ask of them. He said being mayor would remain significant for the rest of his life, calling it the most meaningful thing he had ever been involved in.

ABC councillor Lenny Zhou paired his thanks for four years in office with regrets about how he had handled some moments on council. “I’m certainly not perfect,” he said, adding that he should at times have listened more carefully, been more patient, pushed back more firmly, including within his own team, and chosen his words more wisely. Zhou said helping residents resolve longstanding problems, assisting seniors who could not speak English and listening to small-business owners had given the job meaning. Long workdays, however, meant missing time with his young son.

Zhou recalled arriving in Vancouver at 23 as an international student with two suitcases, little English and no local connections. He said he had never expected to represent the city, and that racist comments questioning how Canadian he was had deeply hurt him.

Vote Vancouver councillor Rebecca Bligh, who is leaving after eight years on council, thanked city staff for helping her learn the job and residents for both supporting and challenging her. She praised her former ABC colleagues’ commitment despite disagreements. “We didn’t always sit on the same side of an issue, and some of our debates were hard fought, but I never doubted that each of you ran, served, and showed up because you love the city,” she said.

For ABC councillor Lisa Dominato, some of the most satisfying work involved helping people with City Hall matters that rarely attracted public attention. She said she was proud to help residents, businesses and non-profit organizations navigate city processes and have their concerns addressed. “I listened, I showed up, and I always maintained a laser focus on my duty to serve the public interest,” she said.

Dominato thanked Sim and congratulated Fry, telling him that her youngest daughter remained one of his biggest fans. She invoked Spider-Man’s lesson about power and responsibility and urged Fry to govern fairly. She said her daughter would approve of her quoting, “With great power comes great responsibility.” Dominato added that voters had elected Fry as Vancouver’s next mayor and said she hoped he would govern with a balanced hand.

ABC councillor Sarah Kirby-Yung expressed gratitude after 12 years in municipal office: one term on the Park Board and two on council. She reflected on affordable housing projects, new child-care openings and efforts to help arts organizations stay in their spaces. She also described meeting residents across Vancouver and taking part in cultural celebrations she might otherwise never have experienced. Her memories included the excitement surrounding the FIFA World Cup and the shock she witnessed near the scene of the Lapu Lapu Day tragedy.

Kirby-Yung said she still paused when entering or leaving City Hall to reflect on the responsibility of serving in a democratic institution. “I never want to lose that feeling. I think it’s what public service is about,” she said. Bligh, Dominato and Kirby-Yung were first elected under the Non-Partisan Association.

ABC councillor Peter Meiszner thanked colleagues across party lines and wished the incoming council success. “The past four years have been one of the best experiences of my life,” he said. Meiszner said he believed Fry had Vancouver’s best interests at heart. Although he lost his re-election bid, he said he would continue following council’s work and cheering on those taking office.

Klassen, the only ABC councillor re-elected, thanked the city’s election workers and acknowledged the colleagues he would no longer serve alongside. He expected them to remain advocates for Vancouver and hoped to keep in touch in the years ahead.

City Manager Donny van Dyk closed the tributes by outlining what he considered the outgoing council’s accomplishments, including hosting the Invictus Games and FIFA World Cup and speeding up business permits. He said council had approved nearly 60,000 new homes over the past four years. Councillors also spent 256 hours in public meetings that year, compared with about 225 hours of sittings at the provincial legislature, he said.

“You were truly stewards,” van Dyk said. Recalling a lesson from growing up in northern B.C. — to leave a place better than you found it — he said everyone leaving the council chamber that day had made the city better.