Communist Party of Canada hails progressive victory in Vancouver

At the same time, the party has warned of a shift to the right in several other cities across the province.

In an article published by People’s Voice on 19 October, the party’s newspaper, the CPC highlighted the defeat of Sim and his ABC Vancouver party after four years in office. Green Party candidate Pete Fry won the mayoralty with approximately 98,500 votes, ahead of Sim’s roughly 67,400. A broad electoral understanding involving the Greens, the Coalition of Progressive Electors (COPE) and OneCity Vancouver helped consolidate opposition to the incumbent administration. Together, these forces secured nine of the ten city council seats, alongside all nine school trustee positions and all seven parks commissioner positions.

The Communist Party of British Columbia (CPBC) played a role in advocating cooperation among progressive and labour-backed forces. CPBC leader Robert Crooks congratulated those who helped achieve the result, stressing the importance of overcoming divisions that had weakened the left in the 2022 election. He also cautioned that the alliance would face challenges in office and would need to organise around the priorities of working people.

The article identifies affordable housing, public services and opposition to the influence of big business in municipal government as key issues for the coming period. It also points to the election of several councillors who have condemned Israel’s actions against Palestinians, presenting their presence on Vancouver’s council as significant for Palestine solidarity.

However, the party cautioned that Vancouver’s result was not representative of the entire province. Several other municipalities experienced a shift towards the right, while far-right candidates attracted substantial support in some contests. In Surrey, for example, a candidate from the BC Freedom Party received more than 22,000 votes in the school trustee election.

The party situates its strategy within a longer history of cooperation between communists, organised labour and grassroots movements in Vancouver, including the Communist Party’s historical role in the creation of COPE. It argues that electoral cooperation can help challenge business-dominated municipal politics, while emphasising that unity must be accompanied by continued grassroots organising.