Vancouver's new left-leaning council faces first tests without a majority
With Greens holding five of eleven seats and COPE holding four, Pete Fry's administration will need coalition partners to pass decisions on transit, housing taxes, and AI data centres.
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Vancouver's newly elected left-leaning council takes office without a majority, setting up a collaboration between the five-seat Green caucus and the four-seat COPE bloc.
Pete Fry, the new Green mayor, told the Vancouver Sun he wants to move "away from rigid partisan politics" and "bring a collaborative approach more focused on the public than party interests." The Greens need at least one additional vote to pass anything; COPE holds the leverage.
Both parties overlap on major platforms but diverge on details. On transit, the Greens plan to partner with senior governments to provide more-affordable access for low-income riders. COPE wants to expand free transit to youth aged 13-18 and remove fares on some bus routes altogether, funded by raising taxes — including tripling the empty home tax and applying it to unsold condos developers own.
Fry supports the empty home tax, though his position has shifted. In 2023, he backed a time-limited exemption for unsold condos, but strongly opposed the ABC-majority council's decision to create an unlimited exemption and refund millions already paid. COPE's push to reverse that decision may win his vote.
On artificial intelligence data centres, both want to regulate development and operation. COPE would prefer they not be built at all; the Greens' position stops at regulation.
Sean Orr, a re-elected COPE councillor, signalled patience. "There's going to be divergences and there's going to be disagreements. And that's healthy," he said. ABC Vancouver, which dominated the 2022 election, was almost completely wiped off the map on Saturday.
The facts
How many seats do the Greens and COPE each hold on Vancouver's council?
The Green party holds five of eleven seats, while COPE holds four seats.
Who is Vancouver's new mayor?
Pete Fry, a Green, is the new mayor of Vancouver.
What is Pete Fry's stated approach to governance?
Fry told the Vancouver Sun he wants to move away from rigid partisan politics and bring a collaborative approach focused more on the public than party interests.
How do the Greens and COPE differ on transit funding?
The Greens plan to partner with senior governments to provide more-affordable transit access for low-income riders. COPE wants to expand free transit to youth aged 13-18 and remove fares on some bus routes, funded by raising taxes including tripling the empty home tax.
