Vancouver mayoral elect Pete Fry celebrates on civic election night in Vancouver, on Oct. 17.ETHAN CAIRNS/The Canadian Press
The first Green mayor of a major Canadian city says his top priority will be dealing with community safety and moving toward a thoughtful approach to getting people off the streets in Vancouver.
On the campaign trail, Pete Fry pledged to create an office of community safety to co-ordinate police, fire, community services, and land use, as well as a 24/7 nonpolice team for non-emergency calls.
The Greens have also promised to lift a moratorium, introduced by incumbent Ken Sim, on new supportive housing projects.
“We hear loud and clear from folks that they are struggling with quality of life in the city,” Mr. Fry said in an interview Sunday.
A really big priority is community safety and dealing with “this sort of visible manifestation of poverty and homelessness on our streets. How do we fix that as a society and a city and get away from this really negative narrative.”
It’s been 15 years since Vancouver elected its first Green councillor and Mr. Fry said the city’s party is distinct from its federal and provincial counterparts.
Green’s Pete Fry elected mayor of Vancouver, defeating incumbent Ken Sim
The civic elections came just a week before British Columbians vote in a snap provincial election. The provincial Greens, under new Leader Emily Lowan, advocate for expanded access to pharmaceutical alternatives to street opioids for those who use drugs and to decriminalize possession of street drugs for personal use, among other measures.
But Mr. Fry distanced his civic colleagues from the provincial Green campaign.
“Where we share a lot of values, we’re not aligned on political ideologies necessarily, or mandates. My priority and my team’s priority is to govern Vancouver, and to achieve the best for the city,” he said.
Still, he said that effort will include core Green values like diversity and sustainability and the environment.
“But that isn’t necessarily a bad thing at all,” he said.
Nick Poppell, executive director of the Vancouver Greens, said the party has had a record of being on council, school boards and the parks board.
“So it really wasn’t a hard sell, per se as a Green. What really helped solidify it was Pete Fry being Pete Fry,” he said.
Mr. Fry was born in Dublin to Anglo-Trinidadian parents and moved to Vancouver when he was two. His mother is long-time Vancouver Liberal MP Hedy Fry.
Pete Fry celebrates win with supporters. Fry has been a city councillor in Vancouver since 2018.ETHAN CAIRNS/The Canadian Press
Mr. Fry studied arts and business at Simon Fraser University, before going on to run a publishing house and a clothing import business. He later moved into computer design and for more than 30 years was self-employed as a graphic artist.
He said he first got involved in local politics in 2006 while sitting on a dog strategy task force. But after a friend was killed while walking on a local street, he became active within the community that encompasses Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. He still lives there.
On Saturday, voters empowered Mr. Fry to deal with this and other issues, electing him over Mr. Sim, who was seeking a second term as Vancouver mayor.
Mr. Fry has been a city councillor in Vancouver since 2018.
Of the 10 councillors elected Saturday, all but one are left of centre. Voters elected four Greens, four from the left-wing Coalition of Progressive Electors, and one from the OneCity. Mr. Sim’s ABC party, which governed from the right of centre, has been reduced to one member of council.
“It’s certainly a council that I think I can work with,” Mr. Fry said.
Michael Geller, a housing commentator, said in an interview that Mr. Fry’s political situation will be clarified after Saturday’s provincial election determines whether there is a partner or rival for advancing his agenda.
The municipal Greens have talked about holding an independent audit of the Vancouver police before any adjustments to the force’s budget. Mr. Fry said Police Chief Steve Rai called him once the votes were in on Saturday to congratulate him.
“The chief and I have a good working relationship and we have always been quite friendly,” he said. “I look forward to connecting with Chief Rai soon to talk about how we can build that relationship.”
Shortly after Mr. Fry’s win was confirmed on Saturday night, his mother said she was thrilled.
“He’s going to make a great mayor,” Hedy Fry, an MP for 33 years, said at the downtown bar where Mr. Fry and his supporters had gathered to watch the election results.
“I don’t think he will be a partisan mayor. He will work with everybody to get the best ideas and move things forward. That’s how he has always been.”
In Surrey, controversial former mayor Doug McCallum, was elected once again. He defeated the incumbent Brenda Locke.
Four years ago, Ms. Locke beat Mr. McCallum after public dissatisfaction at how he had handled a pledge to replace the RCMP with a new municipal police force. Ms. Locke campaigned in 2022 on keeping the RCMP, but the provincial government eventually forced the city to continue on the path for the new force.