Promises! Promises?

CC 216— What are Vancouver's politicians actually promising so far about housing and affordability before the 2026 elections? Some surprising findings

My summary of the current state of civic election political promises taken today from the seven party websites

Having slain the Villages Plan dragon for a while (yeah!) I think it’s time to look at what civic politicians are promising on the housing/ planning files. After all, elections are in only 80 days.

I’m sure you’ve all been deluged with a torrent of promises from the seven parties courting your votes. For clarity, I ignored all social media content, instead visiting the parties’ websites to see where they stand on the issues. To further simplify, I restricted myself to the affordability/ housing/ planning files I feel comfortable and competent to comment on. For reference, here in alphabetical order are the seven contenders for the crown and their housing/planning/affordability website pages as of today:

• ABC

• COPE

• Greens

• One City

• TEAM

• Vancouver Liberals

• Vote Vancouver

It was a challenge to compile the summary spreadsheet at the top. COPE and One City have only 2025 By-election information. The Greens have nothing except Pete Fry’s bio and some achievements. And of course, ABC seems to have forgotten what they promised four years ago, acting as if they’ve not been governing at all. For convenience, I captured all of ABC’s 2022 promises—worth reviewing against actual achievements.

If we accept that COPE’s and One City’s 2025 promises remain for the 2026 election, we can make a few observations:

• COPE’s and One City’s promises to renters appear doable, with some pushback and possible litigation. It’s disappointing the other parties so far seem to have pretty much ignored the 55% of Vancouverites who are renters.

• COPE’s promise to buy apartments for public housing and co-ops, as well as TEAM’s promise to provide a housing mix compatible with local scale and context are both laudable. I just wish there was even the slightest hint of a financial plan to enable this.

• COPE’s proposals to tax mansions and increase the Empty Homes Tax are obvious vote getters with renters, especially as New York Mayor Mamdani’s wealth tax seems to be working in that city.

• ABC’s property tax freeze—well we know that’s an easy one. Just stop essential maintenance everywhere, put parking meters everywhere (parks and community centres definitely, school parking lots, maybe?).

• TEAM is the only party promising the big planning moves: repeal/replace the Official Development Plan (ODP) after bringing back neighbourhood planning; challenge provincial government overreach; and bring back a bit of parking.

• All parties except COPE, the Greens and One City want to simplify city hall processes. Seems an easy pick. First prize goes to whomever can explain in lay terms just how to do that.

• The Vancouver Liberals are hell bent on replacing Vancouver’s Building Bylaw (VBBL) with the BC Building Code (BCBC). I’ve told Kareem Elam to his face that the high density of older buildings needing special and complex seismic consideration, etc., makes this a non starter.

I will periodically revisit the parties’ websites as we close in on the election, adding housing/ planning/ affordability items as they land. Seems to me there are way too many blanks 80 days before an election. Just sayin’.

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This post is just over 500 words—somewhat less than a 5 minute talk and short for me—probably because there are so few promises so far. If you appreciated this post, please share to your social media and consider becoming a free subscriber to City Conversations at

Brian Palmquist writes in the ancestral lands of the Musqueam people. He is a Vancouver-based architect, building envelope and building code consultant and LEED Accredited Professional (the first green building system). He is semi-retired, still teaching, writing and consulting a bit, but not beholden to any client or city hall. City Conversations mix real discussion with research and observations based on a 50-year career including the planning, design and construction of almost every type and scale of project. He is the author of the Amazon best seller and AIBC Construction Administration course text, “An Architect’s Guide to Construction.” A glutton for punishment, he is threatening to write a book about how we can Embrace, Enhance and Evolve the places where we love to live. Some of its content may appear above.