Vancouver city councillor kicked out of ruling party announces mayoral bid

British ColumbiaCity councillor Rebecca Bligh has created a new party and will run for mayor in Vancouver against her former party, Mayor Ken Sim’s ABC Vancouver.Rebecca Bligh is a 2-term councillor who was ejected from ABC in FebruaryChad Pawson · CBC News · Posted: Sep 22, 2025 2:03 PM EDT | Last Updated: 4 hours agoCity councillor Rebecca Bligh announces she will be running for mayor under a new party, Vote Vancouver, in the next municipal election in Vancouver, speaking outside city hall on Monday. (Ben Nelms/CBC)Two-term Vancouver city councillor Rebecca Bligh has created a new party and will run for mayor against her former party, Mayor Ken Sim’s ABC Vancouver.Bligh made the announcement Monday morning from a plaza outside city hall with supporters flanking her.”I am running to be the next mayor of the City of Vancouver,” she said.She also introduced her new party, called Vote Vancouver, which she says is focused on “service, vision and trust.””This approach will prioritize affordability, building homes, and working with neighbourhoods and communities to make life better in every corner of the city,” read a release accompanying her announcement.Bligh said she means to make a difference for families whose children are having to move out of the city because they can’t afford to stay, small businesses struggling with rising costs and safety, and anyone unable to meet housing costs, whether buying or renting.”When people look to city hall, they don’t see leadership solving these problems. What they see instead is as simple as it is disappointing: city hall isn’t working,” she said. “Ordinary people are being ignored while backroom deals and insiders set the city hall agenda.”Bligh and her new party say they will run a team of candidates in the 2026 election, which is scheduled for Oct. 17 and will hold nominations for council, school board and park board candidates. (Ben Nelms/CBC )Bligh was first elected to Vancouver city council in 2018 with the Non-Partisan Association, but then joined Ken Sim’s ABC party in 2022, only to be ejected this year after the party said she was not aligned with the priorities of the party and its team approach.The ousting came shortly before the passing of Sim’s motion to halt net-new supportive housing in the city, which Bligh voted against. Bligh also voted against proposed bylaw changes, supported by Sim, that would allow home builders in the city to use natural gas for space and water heating in new homes. The motion was defeated in a 5-5 vote.ABC had a clean sweep in the 2022 municipal election, managing to get its entire slate of candidates elected for city council, school board and park board.Bligh critical of SimSince then, the party has courted controversy, starting with Sim’s efforts to dissolve the democratically elected park board.In August 2024, Vancouver School Board chair Victoria Jung resigned from the party to sit as an independent trustee amid controversy over the party’s move to suspend the city’s integrity commissioner.Three park board commissioners are also out of the party, sitting as independents and have been openly critical of ABC’s approach.Sim and ABC were handed a sobering defeat in an April byelection for two vacant council seats, but the party still maintains a majority on council.Bligh took aim at Sim and his record at her Monday news conference.”We have a mayor who promised so much action and hasn’t done the hard work needed to deliver. Well I’m here to say it’s time for a change.”In addition to being a city councillor, Bligh is also the president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, where her priorities have been the poisoned drug crisis, climate, community safety initiatives and investments in housing across Canada. Bligh and her new party said they will run a team of candidates in the 2026 election, which is scheduled for Oct. 17, and will hold nominations for council, school board and park board candidates.Race shaping upSim’s former chief of staff and campaign manager, Kareem Allam, has also announced a bid for mayor in 2026, under the Vancouver Liberals party.OneCity, one of Vancouver’s centre-left parties, said it is currently working to determine its mayoral candidates for 2026. In a release, it said that Bligh cannot distance herself from ABC and its policies at city hall.”Rebecca Bligh voted to slash wages for workers, to block rental housing in wealthy neighbourhoods, and to oppose common sense tools to properly fund our school,” said OneCity Vancouver co-chair Cara Ng. “We need a progressive mayor on the ballot to deliver the change Vancouver needs. And we’ll get one.”ABOUT THE AUTHORChad Pawson is a CBC News reporter in Vancouver. Please contact him at chad.pawson@cbc.ca.With files from Karin Larsen