Vancouver voters look to fill two council seats in municipal byelection

VANCOUVER — Voters in Vancouver are heading to the polls today — but not for the federal election that’s still weeks away from its conclusion.

Vancouverites will instead cast their ballots in the municipal byelection to select two new councillors to fill seats vacated by the Green Party’s Adriane Carr and OneCity’s Christine Boyle.

The vote is anticipated to be a litmus test for Mayor Ken Sim’s ABC party, which swept to power in 2022 with all its candidates for council, park board and school board elected.

The departure of Carr and Boyle — who left after being elected to B.C.’s provincial legislature — leaves only the Green Party’s Pete Fry and former ABC member Rebecca Bligh serving who aren’t ABC councillors in Vancouver.

ABC is running two candidates including former Vancouver police veteran Ralph Kaisers, while former councillor Colleen Hardwick is also running under her TEAM banner where she ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2022.

The city’s three left-of-centre parties — COPE, OneCity and the Greens — are running one candidate each, with COPE represented by Sean Orr, the Greens by Annette Reilly and One City by Lucy Maloney.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 5, 2025.

The Canadian Press