Poll puts Ken Sim ahead in Vancouver mayoral race

Mayor Ken Sim leads the early race for Vancouver mayor in a new Research Co. survey, though more than one-quarter of likely voters remain undecided ahead of the Oct. 17, 2026 civic election.

The online poll of 401 likely Vancouver voters, conducted July 30 to Aug. 1, found Sim had support from 22 per cent of all respondents. Once undecided voters were excluded, the ABC Vancouver incumbent stood at 30 per cent. Vancouver Liberal candidate Kareem Allam and Green Party candidate and Coun. Pete Fry were tied at 19 per cent of decided voters, followed by TEAM for a Livable Vancouver candidate Colleen Hardwick at 14 per cent.

The poll found a sharp difference by housing status: 28 per cent of homeowners backed Sim, compared with 15 per cent of renters. Undecided voters accounted for 31 per cent of renters and 22 per cent of homeowners. Allam was most often named as the challenger best positioned to defeat Sim, at 20 per cent, although 39 per cent of respondents could not identify one.

Fry had the strongest favourability rating among the tested candidates, at 45 per cent. The Greens also led party impressions at 51 per cent, and 42 per cent of likely voters said they would definitely or probably consider Green candidates for Vancouver City Council, compared with 40 per cent for ABC.

The survey also found limited awareness and broad opposition to the City of Vancouver’s Villages Plan, a proposal to add low-rise density and retail-centred villages in 17 low-density neighbourhoods. Council rejected the plan 10-1 on July 28. Research Co. said its results have a margin of error of plus or minus 4.9 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

COPE, OneCity and the Greens have agreed to limit candidate slates for other elected bodies, but all three currently have mayoral candidates. Candidate nominations run Sept. 4 to 11, with withdrawals permitted until Sept. 18.