Vancouver voters split on keeping Ken Sim as mayor: survey

With less than a year before Vancouver’s next municipal election, a survey by Research Co. finds many remain mixed on whether to keep current mayor Ken Sim and his ABC party in power.

The survey asked 401 adults in the city about their thoughts on Sim’s leadership, his party’s policies, and progressive representation on city council. It found 27 per cent of respondents believe, while Ken Sim and his ABC party may not have gotten everything right, they should remain in power. Approximately one-third (32 per cent) found the party had not kept its key promises and would like to a see a change in leadership, but not a major change in policy. Another 27 per cent believe the group’s policies do not work and the city needs new leadership and different ideas.

Research Co. President Mario Canseco says whoever resonates with these dissatisfied voters could ultimately win the next election.

“If you have that vote happening all over the place, some going to Pete Fry, some going to Kareem Allam, some going to Rebecca Bligh…there is a significant possibility that Ken Sim gets re-elected, albeit with a significantly shorter share of the vote than what he had back in 2022,” he says.

In addition, a majority of respondents (59 per cent) believe Vancouver needs a mayor and city council like New York’s Zohran Mamdani. Mamdani made history last November, becoming the city’s first Muslim mayor and youngest in more than a century. He is also willing to make major changes that will make life more affordable, even if they make the elite uncomfortable.

The 2025 election saw New York’s largest turnout in a mayoral race in more than 50 years, according to the city’s Board of Elections. Meantime, voter turnout in Vancouver’s municipal elections have seen a continuous drop since 2014.

Canseco says there is an opportunity for whoever brings new ideas to bring in new voters.

“I think part of what made Mamdani successful is he was focusing on groups that had been forgotten by the municipal parties: renters, people who are newcomers into the city, people who didn’t vote in the last election,” he says.

“You know one of the lessons from 2018 is you can like somebody to become your mayor, but if they don’t have a majority and can’t command a majority from those who are elected, it’s very difficult to get things done.”

Canseco says it’s still too early to tell how Vancouverites will vote this municipal election, but suspects affordability and housing will be key discussion points.

The municipal election is set for October 17.