VANCOUVER RESIDENTS SAY PRESERVING AFFORDABLE HOUSING IS TOP PRIORITY

TEAM FOR A LIVABLE VANCOUVER LISTENS TO THE PEOPLE AT KHATSAHLANO STREET PARTY

VANCOUVER, JULY 8, 2025 – Preserving affordable housing is the biggest issue facing the city, according to people who visited TEAM for a Livable Vancouver’s booth at the Khatsahlano Street Party on July 5.

"Vancouver residents are threatened by the loss of their existing affordable housing in the face of predatory upzoning and rampant speculation," says former TEAM City Councillor Colleen Hardwick.

TEAM’s "sticker station" straw poll found that other top focuses of public concern were:

• effective support for vulnerable residents

• amending the Broadway Plan to avoid displacement of residents and destruction of neighbourhoods

• transparency in City Hall decision-making

"Vancouver can be livable, with a balance between more housing and what makes people want to live in the city," says Hardwick. "But right now we're not seeing that kind of good planning."

Hardwick notes that TEAM’s 2022 platform included developing affordable homes on city-owned land and matching densification with more parks and schools. 

More than 700 people took time out during Vancouver’s biggest annual street festival to participate in the sticker station poll, which offered valuable input about what local residents see as the biggest challenges facing the city.

No matter which issues residents are most concerned about, one message came through loud and clear: City Hall needs a house-cleaning. Local residents are mad as hell about what Ken Sim and ABC are doing to Vancouver, and they want a change.  

TEAM thinks the answer is to be a voice for all neighbourhoods, so that problems like affordability, public safety and protecting our precious parkland can be dealt with in a democratic, accountable way.  

TEAM will continue its public outreach through the summer at street festivals and farmers markets. That reflects the party’s emphasis on grassroots democracy and listening to people who live in Vancouver -- and have a stake in the city’s future.