Three progressive political parties in Vancouver have reached an agreement to restrict the number of non-mayoral candidates they field in the October municipal election, aiming to prevent vote splitting among supporters.
The pact involves COPE, OneCity, and the Vancouver Greens, who will each nominate up to five candidates for city council. For the school board, COPE and the Greens face a limit of four candidates each, while OneCity may nominate five. On the park board, the Greens and COPE are capped at four candidates apiece, with OneCity allowed three.
Negotiation Challenges and Voter Balance
Shawn Vulliez, COPE campaign director, described the deal as the outcome of tough discussions. “It was 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,” he stated.
William Azaroff, OneCity’s mayoral candidate, highlighted the need to balance concerns over vote splitting with providing voter options. “I don’t think it’s fair to progressives to have no choice and just have 10 candidates all together,” Azaroff said. “We also have some really great people running. It would be very hard to have such a limited number getting through.”
Despite the caps, the parties could still field more candidates than available seats: up to 15 for 10 city council positions, 13 for nine school board seats, and 11 for seven park board spots. This setup leaves room for direct competition.
Mayoral Race Remains Open
Pete Fry, a Green Party councillor and mayoral candidate, acknowledged the numerical mismatch but viewed the agreement positively. “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,” Fry said. “I think that’s more important than the math.”
The deal excludes mayoral candidates, with each party permitted to run one. Azaroff and Fry have secured their nominations, while COPE plans to announce its choice soon. The parties commit to a good-faith effort to select the strongest progressive contender through agreed metrics.
“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,” Azaroff noted. “So, if through that system that we all agree to that is not me, then yeah, absolutely. I will abide by whatever rules are set for it.”
Fry expressed confidence in his candidacy. “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,” he added.
Nomination votes for all three parties are scheduled for the first half of May.
Crowded Field in Vancouver Election
The agreement precedes a competitive race featuring at least seven parties. Incumbent Mayor Ken Sim’s ABC Vancouver plans to field candidates, alongside the Vancouver Liberals under Kareem Allam, Vote Vancouver led by Coun. Rebecca Bligh, and TEAM For a Livable Vancouver headed by former councillor Colleen Hardwick.
