Review examines Ken Sim’s record on 93 campaign promises made in 2022

With Vancouver’s municipal election approaching, Daily Hive reviewed nine of the 93 campaign promises made by Ken Sim and ABC Vancouver in 2022. The platform emphasized crime, public safety and public disorder, while also including commitments on climate action, housing and childcare. ABC Vancouver said its platform targets were aspirational and that it was proud of its record.

ABC met its promise to hire 100 new police officers, but revised its commitment to hire 100 mental-health nurses. A 2024 interview with Sim said more than 50 workers with a range of specialized training had been hired. Vancouver Coastal Health said City of Vancouver grant funding through 2027 has allowed it to double the Car 87/88 program, add an Indigenous Crisis Response Team and a Mobile De-escalation Team, and create liaison nurse positions in the VPD operations command centre. The teams employ about 50 staff, including nurses, social workers and Indigenous Cultural Practitioners, though VCH did not specify how many nurses had been hired. ABC Vancouver said it had fully funded the VPD and Fire Department, as well as 57 mental-health workers.

The promise to double Vancouver’s co-operative housing stock was not met. The City said that since November 2022, 402 co-op units were completed across four projects, 237 began construction across two projects and 112 were approved by council. The Co-operative Housing Federation of BC reported a net increase of 334 units. CEO Thom Armstrong said municipalities cannot finance that scale of growth alone and that provincial and federal support for non-market housing has been insufficient.

The City has introduced digital tools, simplified permit categories, staffing changes and expedited approvals for some simple work as part of ABC’s 3x3x3x1 approval target. In June 2026, it reported that 92 per cent of simple renovation permits for projects under $250,000 were issued within three days. Processing for single-detached homes fell from 250 days in 2022 to 160 days in 2025, while multi-family and mid-rise projects fell from 18.1 months in 2023 to 9.8 months in 2025. Both remained above the three-week and three-month targets. Median processing times for high-rise and large-scale projects were about 10 per cent lower than in 2023.

Although taxes were not part of ABC’s 93-point platform, Sim had criticized former mayor Kennedy Stewart over property-tax increases during the 2022 campaign. Since Sim’s election, City Council has increased taxes by 22.1 per cent over four years. The City approved a 10.7 per cent increase in 2023 and a 7.5 per cent increase in 2024; the article also lists a 3.9 per cent increase for 2024. The VPD budget rose by $32 million, including $2.1 million approved through an amendment, below the $36 million requested. In 2025, Sim and ABC passed a zero-per-cent tax-increase austerity budget. ABC said its earlier decisions helped stabilize core services and replenish depleted reserves, and said it is committed to seeking another zero-per-cent increase in 2027.

ABC did not create its promised night mayor position, though it cited the FIFA World Cup and the Granville pedestrian zone as efforts to increase downtown vibrancy. The City has 165 public washrooms and adopted a citywide access framework in January. Its 2026 focus includes low-cost measures such as sensors and automated locks, partnerships with community organizations and businesses, and incorporating washroom planning into future capital projects.

The City said more than 2,000 childcare spaces have become operational since 2022, about 3,000 short of ABC’s 5,000-space target. Council has approved 743 new spaces since November 2022. Vancouver still has a gap of about 6,700 childcare spaces, with only about half of demand being met. In March 2026, the City adopted its first citywide Official Development Plan, a legally binding land-use framework for future growth, development and infrastructure investment.

ABC’s pledge to plant 100,000 additional trees in four years also remains far from completion. The City reported a net increase of 257 trees from 2023 through 2025, with 7,725 planted and 7,468 removed. It said 2022 data were unavailable because of software limitations and 2026 figures were still being compiled.