Vancouver Votes: 2025 By-Election Results

Left to right: Councillors-elect Lucy Maloney (Onecity), Sean Orr (COPE)

On April 5th, over 65,000 Vancouver residents lined up to elect two new city council members. We would like to congratulate councillors-elect Sean Orr (COPE) and Lucy Maloney (Onecity) and thank everyone who participated in this election–whether waiting in line to vote, putting their name on the ballot, volunteering for a candidate, sharing information, or working at a polling station. It takes many people to make democracy work!

We developed the HPPC policy asks for the 2022-2026 council term ahead of the Vancouver general election based on engagement with equity-deserving residents and front-line organizations. You can see the full policy commitments and learn more about our Hot Pink Paper Campaign here.

What Comes Next

Both Orr and Maloney committed to taking action on all eight of our Hot Pink Paper Campaign policy asks. In the coming weeks, we’ll reach out to discuss how we can support them in following through, just as we will continue to engage with all councillors on their commitments.

Voters sent a strong message that equity, tenant rights, community services, safe transportation, climate action, and integrity matter to them. But there is still more work to be done. Having our voices heard through voting is important, but so is engaging in democracy between elections. Elected officials need to know we’re paying attention so that they’re motivated, and have public support, to follow through. We need to continue to show up and apply pressure on all members of council to ensure we see results.

One of the ways we can do that is through Watch Council, where we seek to understand, track, and influence our local governments’ decisions through an intersectional feminist lens.

Voter Turnout and Investing in Democratic Engagement

The election results show that voters were energized by candidates committed to equity and by ensuring diverse perspectives are represented around the council table. Voter turnout increased by 40% from the 2017 by-election, with 67,962 ballots cast.

Our by-election flyer was widely distributed, popping up in libraries, front line organizations, and offices across the city. Our social media explainers were seen almost 150,000 times. Thank you to everyone who helped spread the word about this important by-election.

In total, 15% of eligible voters participated in this election. While that’s a remarkable increase, there is significant room for improvement. Many voters had to wait for multiple hours, and some didn’t cast a ballot as a result of long lines. In conjunction with other barriers, voting station delays particularly impact equity-deserving groups, including workers, people with disabilities, students, older people, and people with children.

Photos by WTC staff

Lineups circling around the block are a highly visible example of what happens when we don’t plan for and invest in democratic engagement.

Not planning for participation is betting on disengagement. Everyone deserves the opportunity to have their voice heard. We appreciate the city’s swift acknowledgement that they need to do better.

We’re committed to working with council and staff to share feedback from our community and recommendations for improvements going forward.