When elected, COPE’s City Councillors will implement a ward system for the next Vancouver municipal election. This change will be made immediately, as the Vancouver Charter already lays out powers for the city to run elections using a ward system. 

Constituents from different parts of the city support this change. A poll conducted earlier this year showed that a majority of Vancouverites want to move to a ward system of government from the current at-large system.

The ward system would see Vancouver’s neighbourhoods be transformed into 10 wards, with residents of each ward being able to elect their own City Council member. The mayor and members of the park and school boards would still be elected at-large. 

In contrast, City Council’s current at-large electoral system means that everyone from across our growing and diverse city must choose 10 councillors from a large ballot of candidates. In the current election cycle, the City has 11 parties and 138 candidates running for mayor, council, school board and park board. 

“The ward system would simplify the voting process,” said COPE City Council candidate Tanya Webking. “Instead of a crowded, confusing city council ballot of 60 names, with a ward system voters would get a ballot of fewer candidates who could focus on directly engaging with residents in their respective wards.”

Research from across North America has shown that at-large systems often discriminate against minority communities who may be geographically concentrated. This is also the case for communities in Vancouver.

The current at-large system requires all candidates to campaign citywide, which is very expensive and incentivizes parties and candidates to seek maximum financial contributions from corporations or wealthy individuals associated with companies – in particular real estate development firms.

“Under the current at-large system, you need a lot of money to campaign and have power in a city of our size,” said Webking. “The ward system would elevate the representation of social, economic, cultural, and ethnic minorities by giving them a higher chance of being elected.”

Running an election campaign in the ward system costs less money since council candidates only need to focus on their neighbourhood. This lowers a barrier to running for office. 

“Certainly, developers and wealthy donors could still financially support the campaigns of certain candidates in a ward system and have their interests be disproportionately represented on council,” said Webking. “Because of this, meaningful electoral system reform must also include campaign finance reform to make sure every resident’s interests are represented, regardless of their income.”

Canada’s seven largest cities — Toronto, Montreal, Calgary, Ottawa, Edmonton, Mississauga, and Winnipeg — each have ward systems for their respective city councils. COPE has been pushing for a ward system in Vancouver for over 50 years. There have been five referenda, three of which passed with a majority supporting using a ward system. The COPE city council of 2002-2005 commissioned the Berger report, published in 2004, that recommended a ward system as well as repealing voting for non-resident property owners. The Charter has been changed to allow wards. But without the political will to implement a ward system from 2005-2022, it has not been done.

After immediately implementing a ward system, COPE will also request a change to the Vancouver Charter which would give the City power to implement additional electoral reforms, including but not limited to proportional representation, single transferable vote, and mixed member representation, to enact an electoral system that results in proper government representation for the City’s residents. 

“The ward system is not the only mechanism for reducing discrimination and corporate influence in our voting system,” said Webking. “COPE will work to increase the number of tools Vancouver can use to continue to increase representation for working-class people and marginalized communities and to stop corporations from trying to buy our elections.”

With COPE in a strong position to expand its balance of power on Vancouver City Council, voters may find it valuable to be informed about which other parties and candidates will support COPE's motion for a ward system in Vancouver, which will be introduced immediately after the Oct 15th civic election.

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