Ahead of Metro Vancouver's municipal elections on Oct. 15, BIV has prepared short biographies and policy priorities for each of the leading mayoral candidates in key municipalities.
Below is information on the five leading hopefuls vying to serve a four-year term as Vancouver's mayor.
We've listed candidates in alphabetical order by last name. Brief profiles of leading mayoral candidates in other municipalities can be found at biv.com/elections-2022.
Fred Harding, Non Partisan Association
Fred Harding was a detective in London, England, before moving to B.C., where he spent 18 years at the West Vancouver Police Department, retiring as a corporal. His post-policing life has included being president and CEO of Harding Global Consultants Ltd., which helps businesses grow, innovate and develop cross-cultural connections in Asia and North America. He has spent much of the past four years in China.
Harding lists public safety as his primary concern, although he also aims to make living in the city more affordable.
Colleen Hardwick, TEAM for a Livable Vancouver
Originally from Vancouver, Colleen Hardwick is a serial entrepreneur who has founded companies in the film and technology sectors. The 1997 BIV Forty under 40 Award winner won election to Vancouver city council in 2018. Her roots in Vancouver politics run deep as her father was a longtime alderman and her grandmother was on the city’s parks board.
Hardwick’s campaign is centred on gentle density. She aims to repeal the city’s support for its Broadway Plan, which allows towers up to 40 storeys in parts of Kitsilano.
Mark Marissen, Progress Vancouver
Mark Marissen is a longtime consultant, government lobbyist and political operative. He founded what is now Burrard Strategy Inc., and owned and operated Pacific Future Energy and Kanata Clean Energy. He held senior roles organizing political campaigns for federal Liberal leaders Paul Martin and Stephane Dion.
Housing affordability is Marissen’s top issue, and he supports speedy approvals for building permits and approving developments to increase density. He also supports investing in public spaces and improving infrastructure for pedestrians and cyclists.
Ken Sim, A Better City
Ken Sim is a serial entrepreneur who co-founded Nurse Next Door and Rosemary Rocksalt. He received a BIV Forty under 40 Award in 2005. Sim is a chartered professional accountant recognized with a FCPA designation. He ran and narrowly lost his bid to be Vancouver’s mayor in 2018, when he ran under the Non Partisan Association banner.
Sim wants to help solve the housing crisis by tripling the number of housing starts and streamlining permitting. He also wants to provide more resources to law enforcement to enhance safety; to invest in public spaces; and to improve transit options, including more bike lanes.
Kennedy Stewart (incumbent), Forward Together
Kennedy Stewart was a Simon Fraser University political science professor when he was elected to the House of Commons in 2011 as an NDP MP for Burnaby-Douglas. He was re-elected in 2015 in the newly created Burnaby South riding. He won election as Vancouver’s mayor in 2018, when he ran as an independent.
Stewart’s top priority is affordable housing, and he favours building more rental units and social housing. Other issues he prioritizes include helping resolve the opioid crisis with expanded harm-reduction facilities, protecting the environment and restoring faith in city hall.
Read more about other Metro Vancouver mayoral candidates at biv.com/elections-2022.
