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	Unicameral
Leadership
Mayor	Kennedy Stewart, Independent
Structure
Seats	10 councillors and mayor
Political groups	NPA (4)   Green (3)   COPE (1)   OneCity (1)   Independent (2)
Elections
Voting system	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.[5]

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.

External links

• Vancouver City Council
• Vancouver's elected representatives, by Wayne D. Madden A compilation of election results for Vancouver, British Columbia at the municipal, provincial and federal levels through 2002. Available on Internet Archive.