Ken Sim is first Asian-Canadian mayor in Vancouver after election
- Ken Sim vows to speed up permits for city’s housing construction, and tackle crimes including those against Asians
- Sim will be the first Asian-Canadian mayor ever in Vancouver, a city with a large Chinese immigrant population
Entrepreneur Ken Sim has unseated Kennedy Stewart as mayor of Vancouver, a city where runaway home prices and the cost of living have become pressing concerns among voters.
Sim, who founded Canadian home healthcare company Nurse Next Door, ran on a promise to speed up permitting for housing construction in the city by reducing high-rise approvals to one year from as many as six.
He also promised to hire 100 additional police officers to tackle crime, including anti-Asian hate crimes.
“We can make Vancouver safe again. We can make progress on housing,” Sim said in a campaign video. He will be the first Asian-Canadian mayor ever in Vancouver, a city with a large Chinese immigrant population.
Saturday’s election was a rematch of the 2018 mayoral vote, when Stewart won by fewer than 1,000 votes. This time, Sim picked up 85,732 votes to Stewart’s 49,453, according to the city.
Sim’s ABC Vancouver slate also won a majority of city council seats.
