TEAM Responds to Ken Sim’s “Moving Vancouver Forward” Campaign Announcement
ABC is asking for more time in office, while TEAM has already released detailed plans on issues residents care about.
VANCOUVER, September 21 — Ken Sim and ABC have had nearly four years to come up with solutions to Vancouver’s problems. But they won’t release their full policy platform until Sept. 28 – less than a week before advance voting begins.
Even after four years on the job, Vancouver’s incumbent Mayor and Council are still unprepared to lead the city.
“Ken Sim and ABC have had four years to deal with the public safety issue -- but they've failed,” says TEAM for a Livable Vancouver mayoral candidate Colleen Hardwick. “Adding an unenforceable plebiscite to the ballot is not a plan. Sim is running on fumes and is running against his own record. In contrast, TEAM's plan to address safety is comprehensive.”
TEAM for a Livable Vancouver has taken the time to listen to residents from across Vancouver and develop policies that address their concerns.
Today ABC released a two-page preview of its platform. “Let’s Keep Vancouver Moving Forward” which appears to be running away from its own record. While it mentions continued action on public safety, affordability, the economy and City services, ABC’s platform also proposes reversing policies that Sim and ABC previously implemented – including removing parking meters at beaches which his government imposed. And it completely reverses ABC’s position on a 50-metre pool at the VAC after fighting against residents who demanded it. This platform, like Ken Sim’s “Zero Means Zero” property tax policy after raising property taxes by 23% in his first three years, is little more than cynical election opportunism.
The numbers show that Vancouver is definitely not moving forward.
Take public safety. Vancouver Police Department data for the first six months of 2026 show violent crime increased 6% compared with the same period in 2025. Reported assaults increased 7.1%, from 2,011 to 2,153, while robberies increased 7.8%.
On affordability, Vancouver remains Canada’s least-affordable major housing market. RBC Economics reports that homeownership costs in the Vancouver area represented 84.1% of median household income in the first quarter of 2026. Despite recent improvement, that’s still the highest level in Canada.
And on neighbourhood planning, ABC and other members of Council supported the new city-wide Official Development Plan. The ODP was approved unanimously among eligible voting councillors in March, including Green mayoral candidate Pete Fry. The subsequent Villages Plan met extensive public opposition and was rejected by Council in July. But the underlying Official Development Plan still identifies 25 “villages” across Vancouver. TEAM has committed to repealing the current ODP and replacing ABC’s centralized approach with community-based neighbourhood planning.
ABC has still not published a comprehensive platform setting out the full details of its re-election platform.
TEAM is taking a different approach: listening to residents and releasing detailed policies explaining what we would do at City Hall.
Over the past months, TEAM has travelled across Vancouver through our 22 Neighbourhoods Tour, meeting residents where they live and hearing directly about the issues affecting their communities.
Those conversations have resulted in a series of detailed policy announcements.
In July, TEAM announced Respect for Neighbourhoods, our plan to repeal ABC’s Official Development Plan and restore meaningful community-based planning, neighbourhoods a real voice in how they grow and change.
In August, TEAM announced Better Parks and Recreation for Everyone. It outlines how TEAM will protect Vancouver’s parkland, reverse the erosion of independent parks governance and properly invest in the recreatiogiving n facilities Vancouver families rely on.
TEAM also announced its Local Environment Action Plan to protect and expand Vancouver’s tree canopy, strengthen shoreline protection and invest in infrastructure that can withstand flooding, extreme heat and a changing climate.
Earlier this month, TEAM released A Local Economy that Works for Residents, including a Vancouver Economic Development Agency, new investment in neighbourhood shopping streets and a strategy to diversify Vancouver’s economy beyond an excessive reliance on real-estate development.
And on Friday, TEAM released Restoring Order to Our City, a comprehensive Public Safety and Recovery Plan focused on repeat offenders, community-first policing, violence against women, a new Victim Response Standard, and a recovery-oriented response to Vancouver’s addiction crisis.
TEAM will be unveiling more policies as the campaign continues.
It’s time for new leadership at City Hall that respects residents and neighbourhoods and puts their interests first. That’s what TEAM will deliver.
