Vancouver City Council

Vancouver City Council is the governing body of the City of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The council consists of the mayor plus ten councillors elected to serve a four-year term. The current council was determined by the 2018 civic election. Monthly, a deputy mayor is appointed from among the councillors. The current mayor is Kennedy Stewart, who sits as an independent.

Vancouver City Council
Type
Type
Leadership
Mayor
Kennedy Stewart, Independent
Structure
Seats10 councillors and mayor
Political groups
Elections
Plurality at-large voting (councillors)
First past the post (mayor)
Last election
October 20, 2018
Next election
October 15, 2022
Meeting place
Vancouver City Hall
Vancouver, British Columbia
Website
vancouver.ca/your-government/vancouver-city-council.aspx

The most recent election was on October 20, 2018. Unlike many other cities of its size, all Vancouver city councillors are elected at-large, rather than being elected to represent municipal wards.[1] A proposal to move to a conventional ward system was rejected by voters in a 2004 referendum.[2]

Powers

The city is governed by the Vancouver Charter.[3] The charter gives the city greater powers than those of other municipalities in British Columbia.

Powers of the Vancouver council include:[4]

  • pass by-laws to regulate such things as noise and land use
  • buy and sell property
  • collect certain taxes
  • approve expenditures
  • take on debts
  • give grants
  • hire and discharge employees

City council sits at City Hall at 453 West 12th Avenue.

Membership

2018–present

Council membership as of December 6, 2019:[5]

Party Name Position
  Independent Kennedy Stewart Mayor
  Independent[lower-alpha 1] Rebecca Bligh Councillor
  NPA Melissa De Genova Councillor
  NPA Lisa Dominato Councillor
  NPA Colleen Hardwick Councillor
  NPA Sarah Kirby-Yung Councillor
  Green Adriane Carr Councillor
  Green Pete Fry Councillor
  Green Michael Wiebe Councillor
  COPE Jean Swanson Councillor
  OneCity Christine Boyle Councillor

Notes

  1. Rebecca Bligh was elected as part of the Non-Partisan Association but left the party to sit as an independent on December 6, 2019.[6]

2014–2018

  Gregor Robertson Vision Mayor
  Raymond Louie Vision Councillor
  Heather Deal Vision Councillor
  Kerry Jang Vision Councillor
  Andrea Reimer Vision Councillor
  Tim Stevenson Vision Councillor
  Elizabeth Ball NPA Councillor
  George Affleck NPA Councillor
  Melissa De Genova NPA Councillor
  Adriane Carr Green Councillor
  Hector Bremner (elected October 14, 2017) Yes Vancouver Councillor

Hector Bremner's seat originally belonged to Geoff Meggs, who had been elected as a Vision Vancouver candidate during the 2014 municipal election. His seat was vacated as a result of Premier John Horgan appointing Meggs as his chief of staff.

2011–2014

  Gregor Robertson Vision Mayor
  Raymond Louie Vision Councillor
  Heather Deal Vision Councillor
  Tony Tang Vision Councillor
  Kerry Jang Vision Councillor
  Andrea Reimer Vision Councillor
  Tim Stevenson Vision Councillor
  Geoff Meggs Vision Councillor
  Elizabeth Ball NPA Councillor
  George Affleck NPA Councillor
  Adriane Carr Green Councillor

2008–2011

  Gregor Robertson Vision Mayor
  Raymond Louie Vision Councillor
  Heather Deal Vision Councillor
  George Chow Vision Councillor
  Kerry Jang Vision Councillor
  Andrea Reimer Vision Councillor
  Tim Stevenson Vision Councillor
  Geoff Meggs Vision Councillor
  David Cadman COPE Councillor
  Ellen Woodsworth COPE Councillor
  Suzanne Anton NPA Councillor

2005–2008

  Sam Sullivan NPA Mayor
  Suzanne Anton NPA Councillor
  Peter Ladner NPA Councillor
  Kim Capri NPA Councillor
  Elizabeth Ball NPA Councillor
  B.C. Lee NPA Councillor
  Raymond Louie Vision Councillor
  Tim Stevenson Vision Councillor
  George Chow Vision Councillor
  Heather Deal Vision Councillor
  David Cadman COPE Councillor

2002–2005

  Larry Campbell COPE/Vision Mayor
  Fred Bass COPE Councillor
  David Cadman COPE Councillor
  Jim Green COPE/Vision Councillor
  Peter Ladner NPA Councillor
  Raymond Louie COPE/Vision Councillor
  Tim Louis COPE Councillor
  Anne Roberts COPE Councillor
  Tim Stevenson COPE/Vision Councillor
  Sam Sullivan NPA Councillor
  Ellen Woodsworth COPE Councillor

References

  1. Geller, Michael (November 5, 2018). "Wards or not, Vancouver's electoral system needs reforming". Vancouver Courier. Retrieved December 2, 2019.
  2. Matas, Robert (October 18, 2004). "Vancouver rejects ward system". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved December 2, 2019.
  3. "VANCOUVER CHARTER [SBC 1953] CHAPTER 55". Qp.gov.bc.ca. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  4. "City Council meetings and decisions". Vancouver.ca. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
  5. Smith, Charlie. "Rebecca Bligh cites importance of inclusion as she quits NPA and becomes an independent councillor". The Georgia Straight. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
  6. Smith, Charlie. "Rebecca Bligh cites importance of inclusion as she quits NPA and becomes an independent councillor". The Georgia Straight. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
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