Three progressive political parties in Vancouver—COPE, OneCity, and the Vancouver Greens—limit non-mayoral candidates in the October municipal election to prevent vote splitting. The agreement excludes mayoral races, leaving room for competition among their top contenders.
Candidate Limits by Board
Each party nominates up to five candidates for city council. For the school board, COPE and the Greens field four candidates each, while OneCity runs five. On the park board, the Greens and COPE cap at four, and OneCity at three.
COPE campaign director Shawn Vulliez describes the deal as “a hard-fought thing, and I know it’s in some ways an imperfect deal, but it’s the results of a good negotiation, and a fair negotiation is always going to be something that’s a little imperfect for everyone.”
OneCity mayoral candidate William Azaroff highlights the balance between avoiding vote splits and preserving voter options. “I don’t think it’s fair to progressives to have no choice and just have 10 candidates all together,” he states. “We also have some really great people running. It would be very hard to have such a limited number getting through.”
The caps still exceed available seats: up to 15 candidates vie for 10 city council spots, 13 for nine school board positions, and 11 for seven park board seats, fostering intra-party competition.
Green councillor and mayoral candidate Pete Fry acknowledges the numbers “don’t really add up,” but views the pact as progress. “The central tenet is, like, non-aggression and really redirecting our attention to improving the lives of Vancouverites, improving the future for our city and taking out (Mayor) Ken Sim,” he says. “I think that’s more important than the math.”
Mayoral Race Remains Open
All parties schedule nomination votes for the first half of May. Azaroff and Fry secure their nominations, while COPE plans an announcement soon.
The agreement commits to a “good-faith effort” to select the strongest progressive mayoral candidate. Azaroff notes, “The magic will come with when the parties can agree on a system or a series of metrics or some systemic way of judging who will be the mayoral candidate to beat.” He pledges to follow any agreed rules.
Competition persists for now. Fry expresses confidence: “I still feel pretty confident in my chances, and I am hoping that as we get closer to election day in the fall, the other progressive parties will see the merit in my approach and either get behind it or get out of the way.”
Crowded Field Ahead
The deal precedes a competitive election with at least seven parties. ABC Vancouver, led by Mayor Ken Sim, fields candidates alongside the Vancouver Liberals under Kareem Allam, Vote Vancouver with Coun. Rebecca Bligh, and TEAM For a Livable Vancouver headed by former councillor Colleen Hardwick.
