Ken Sim (original) (raw)

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Mayor of Vancouver since 2022

Not to be confused with the romanized transliteration of the Chinese Surname Shěn 沈.

Ken Sim
Sim in 2024
41st Mayor of Vancouver
Incumbent
Assumed office November 7, 2022
Preceded by	Kennedy Stewart
Personal details
Born	Kenneth Sim (1970-10-18) October 18, 1970 (age 55)Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Party	ABC Vancouver (municipal)
Other politicalaffiliations	Non-Partisan Association (2018)
Spouse	Teena Gupta
Alma mater	University of British Columbia
Profession	Businessman
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	沈觀健
Simplified Chinese	沈观健
TranscriptionsStandard MandarinHanyu PinyinShěn GuānjiànYue: CantoneseYale RomanizationSám Gūn-gihnJyutpingSam2 Gun1-gin6other YueTaishaneseSim2 Gon1-gen5

Kenneth Sim (Chinese: 沈觀健; Cantonese Yale: Sám Gūn-gihn; born October 18, 1970)[1][2][3][4] is a Canadian politician and businessman who has served as the 41st mayor of Vancouver since 2022.[5][6] Sim is the first Chinese Canadian elected Mayor of Vancouver.[7][8]

Born in Vancouver to Hong Kong immigrants Francis Sim (d. 1999) and Maria Theresa Kim (1932–2016),[9][10] Sim attended Magee Secondary School, Sir Winston Churchill Secondary School, and the UBC Sauder School of Business, graduating with a BComm in finance in 1993. He also holds a FCPA and FCA accounting designation.[11]

Sim co-founded Nurse Next Door Home Healthcare Services in 2001, and has founded multiple businesses since then.[12][3]

Early political career

[edit]

Sim first ran for mayor of Vancouver with the Non-Partisan Association in the 2018 Vancouver municipal election and finished the runner-up to Kennedy Stewart.[13]

Sim was elected mayor of Vancouver, running under the ABC Vancouver party banner, on October 15, 2022. He is the first challenger to defeat a sitting mayor of Vancouver since 1980, when Mike Harcourt upset incumbent Jack Volrich.[14]

Sim's ABC Vancouver faced defeat in the 2025 Vancouver City Council by-election, with his party's candidates placing sixth and seventh, respectively. In addition, his former chief of staff and 2022 campaign manager, Kareem Allam, formed the Vancouver Liberals after a dispute with the mayor.[15] 2022 ABC Vancouver elected officials Victoria Jung, Christopher JK Richardson, Rebecca Bligh, Brennan Bastyovanszky, Laura Christensen, and Scott Jensen have all either been ejected or have resigned from the party.[16]

Homelessness and housing

[edit]

In March 2023, during Sim's mayoral term, a homeless count was commenced by the Homelessness Services Association of BC, the first since the beginning of the pandemic. The results of the count were released in October 2023.[17] A local non-profit serving the population expects the results to show increases given their increased demand for services.[18][19]

Sim's plan to address the homeless crisis in Vancouver has centred on partnership with Provincial and Federal government programs. Within his first 45 days in office Ken Sim and the ABC-dominated Council expedited work camp-style housing in partnership with BC Housing that implemented 90 units on City property.[20] On March 27, 2023, Sim and Provincial Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon announced a plan to open 330 additional units by June, 2023.[21]In addition, ABC Vancouver have repeatedly stated their intent to decrease permit processing times as additional means to stimulate the development of new, permanent housing.[22]

In early April 2023, news outlets began reporting on the City of Vancouver's efforts to bring the East Hastings encampment to a close. Sim remarked that the conclusion of the encampment is part of a larger effort of "finding empathetic ways to get people off the streets and into housing that they need."[23]

On April 5, 2023, Sim announced the encampment would be brought to a close.[24] By the end of the April 5, city workers removed most of the encampment on Hastings, disposed of much of the debris left by the encampment, and offered residents temporary re-homing to shelters while the city awaits new more permanent housing to arrive in June.[25] As part of the operation April 5 and 6, crews took down 94 “entrenched structures” and removed 50 propane tanks from the encampment zone. More than 70 totes for storage were also provided to individuals and stored off-site.[26]

On December 6, 2023, three ABC Vancouver Vancouver Park Board commissioners left the party to sit as independents after Sim introduced a motion to ask the provincial government to change the Vancouver Charter to dissolve the park board.[27] While remaining independent, they have indicated they will form a majority bloc with Green Party commissioner Tom Digby.[28][29][30]

During the 2022 campaign, Sim promised he would hire 100 nurses to join the previously established Car 87 program, alongside 100 new police officers.[31] On February 14, 2023, Vancouver City Council voted to allocate $2.8 million to Vancouver Coastal Health, to hire 58 mental health workers "to support people who are suffering from mental illness combined with lack of stable housing and substance abuse issues."[32][33]

Mayor Ken Sim announced in April 2023 that he would create a task force with a mandate to review the city's operating and capital budgets and recommend ways tax dollars can be spent more efficiently and responsibly.[34]

Sim's major campaign promises included increases to the budget of VPD and a commitment to pay for these budget increases without cutting services or increasing property taxes.[35] Despite campaign promises, in a council meeting early in his term, he suggested that the Vancouver Public Library should look into "potential revenue opportunities" to fund operations.[36]

Vancouver City Council increased property taxes by 10.7% during Sim's first year in office. The property tax increase resulted in the average condo owner paying an additional 33 cents per day and the average home owner paying an additional 83 cents per day in property taxes. Council also voted to eliminate the controversial 25 cent "cup fee" on single-use beverage cups.[37][38][39][40]

Sim and his council increased property taxes by an additional 7.5% in his second year. In December 2025, he proposed a motion that would explore the city converting some of its reserves into bitcoin.[41]

Sim was criticized by members of the Green Party of Vancouver for converting a boardroom at Vancouver City Hall into a personal gym.[42]

Foreign interference allegations

[edit]

In 2023, The Globe and Mail published allegations from an anonymous Canadian Security Intelligence Service source claiming that China interfered in the 2022 Vancouver municipal election.[43][44][45] Of the allegations, Sim stated "If there's proof of foreign interference in our election, I want to know about it because I'm a Canadian … but right now there are a bunch of insinuations."[46]

In February 2026, Vancouver mayor Ken Sim alleged at a Chinese-language media briefing on 6 February that COPE councillor Sean Orr had distributed illegal drugs on Christmas Day. CBC News reported that the allegation was unsubstantiated and that Orr denied it, stating he had been visiting family on the Sunshine Coast at the time.[47]

Sim apologized to Orr by phone and addressed reporters on 27 February, stating that he had spoken with Orr and apologized but declined to answer further questions.[48]

On March 3, 2026, Sim held a press conference stating that his comments were based on an unverified photograph shown to him by a member of the public. Orr said the apology was insufficient and stated he was considering a defamation lawsuit and a complaint to Vancouver's integrity commissioner.[49]

Sim resides in West Point Grey with his wife and their four sons.[50] He has said that his children's inability to see "a future for themselves in Vancouver" was a primary reason for his involvement in politics.[51]

Hong Kong politician Bernard Charnwut Chan is a first cousin.[45] Sim's father was Chan's maternal uncle.[52][53] Canadian intelligence analyst Scott McGregor and journalist Ina Mitchell noted in their book, The Mosaic Effect, that Bernard's father, Robin Chan, who is Sim's uncle, held the role of vice chairman of the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese (ACFROC), a top-ranking organization in the Chinese Communist Party's united front network.[54]

Sim has taken training programs held by Landmark Worldwide, described by some as a large-group awareness training organization, crediting the training with teaching him how to have "authentic conversations" and giving him the confidence to run for mayor.[55]

1. ^ Calculated using Ken Sim's and Kennedy Stewart's 2018 results.

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21. ^ "@KahlonRav on Twitter". Twitter. March 27, 2023. Archived from the original on June 4, 2024. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
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24. ^ Shepert, Elana (April 5, 2023). "City claims 'staff error' caused 4 traffic cameras to go offline as it moved out DTES campers". Vancouver Is Awesome. Archived from the original on April 6, 2023. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
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26. ^ Howell, Mike (April 12, 2023). "What the East Hastings encampment looks like — one week later". Vancouver Is Awesome. Archived from the original on April 14, 2023. Retrieved April 13, 2023.
27. ^ McElroy, Justin (December 6, 2023). "Vancouver's mayor makes a bold step to eliminate the park board — at the risk of dividing his party". CBC News. Retrieved December 6, 2023.
28. ^ Jensen, Scott [@ParkBoardScott] (December 6, 2023). "Park Commissioners @BrennanBastyo, @l_christe, @ThomasDigby1 and I have agreed to work together to collaborate as a majority, and to provide competent and thoughtful leadership for the people of Vancouver and to ensure our cherished @ParkBoard is protected" (Tweet). Retrieved December 7, 2023 – via X (formerly Twitter).
29. ^ Fumano, Dan (January 18, 2026). "Ex-ABC Vancouver politician joins new civic party to seek re-election". Vancouver Sun. Postmedia. Retrieved January 19, 2026.
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31. ^ "Vancouver council votes to fund 100 new police officers, 100 new mental health nurses". CBC News. November 22, 2022. Archived from the original on March 27, 2023. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
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33. ^ Garrett, Catherine (February 14, 2023). "Annual Women's Memorial March draws hundreds to downtown Vancouver". Global News. Archived from the original on March 27, 2023. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
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35. ^ Fumano, Dan (February 28, 2023). "Dan Fumano: Vancouver's new mayor pitches 10.7% property tax hike in record-high budget". Vancouver Sun. Archived from the original on March 20, 2023. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
36. ^ Special Council (2023 Budget) - November 29, 2022. City of Vancouver. November 29, 2022. Archived from the original on April 6, 2023. Retrieved April 7, 2023 – via YouTube.
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38. ^ Howell, Mike (November 22, 2022). "Vancouver police request $383 million budget for 2023". Vancouver Is Awesome. Archived from the original on March 27, 2023. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
39. ^ St. Denis, Jen (March 1, 2023). "In Vancouver's Budget, Libraries Couldn't Compete with Police". The Tyee. Archived from the original on March 27, 2023. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
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41. ^ "Vancouver council passes 2024 budget with 7.5% property tax hike". CBC News. Archived from the original on December 2, 2024. Retrieved December 1, 2024.
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44. ^ VanderKlippe, Nathan; Fife, Robert; Chase, Steven (March 16, 2023). "Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim irate over CSIS reports on China's election interference". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on April 11, 2023. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
45. ^ a b Bilefsky, Dan (May 7, 2023). "Did China Help Vancouver's Mayor Win Election?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on May 9, 2023. Retrieved October 31, 2023.
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47. ^ Kulkarni, Akshay (February 26, 2026). "Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim made unsubstantiated claims about councillor distributing drugs". CBC News. Retrieved April 18, 2026.
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