RELEASE: COPE, OneCity, and Greens Reach Agreement
April 15, 2026
Vancouver, BC - Following multiple rounds of discussions, The Coalition of Progressive Electors (COPE), OneCity Vancouver, and the Green Party of Vancouver announced an agreement for the upcoming October municipal election, aimed at ensuring limits on the total number of progressive candidates on the ballot.
Under the agreement, each party will limit nominated candidates for City Council, School Board, and Park Board, for up to 13 total non-mayor candidates per party.
City Council: Each party will nominate up to five candidates
School Board: COPE and the Vancouver Green Party will run up to four candidates; OneCity will run up to five.
Park Board: COPE and the Vancouver Green party will run up to four candidates; OneCity will run up to three.
"This agreement reflects a shared commitment to collaboration while maintaining each party's distinct voice and priorities," said Liz Locke, Co-Chair of OneCity Vancouver, "OneCity sees this as a practical step to make sure progressive voters are best represented."
The agreement stipulates that each party may field their own Mayoral candidate, but that parties agree to engage in a good-faith effort to determine which progressive mayor is best suited to compete.
OneCity has nominated William Azaroff for Mayor. Greens have nominated Pete Fry for Mayor. COPE will announce a Mayoral candidate, or candidates, in the coming weeks.
"In 2022, there were too many great council candidates and not enough great Mayoral candidates," said Shawn Vulliez, Campaign Director for COPE, "We trust the voters to rally behind someone and show us who the strongest candidate is for Mayor over the summer, and we trust them to vote for the progressive candidates that best represent their priorities in October."
The parties have also agreed to a shared priority for ranked ballots in future Mayoral elections. This would ensure that citizens of Vancouver get a meaningful choice without distorting the final results due to the limitations of first-past-the-post voting.
“Greens want a Vancouver that is more affordable, more livable, and more hopeful,” said Nick Poppell, Chairperson of the Green Party of Vancouver. “This agreement helps give voters a clearer progressive choice while allowing each party to keep fighting for its vision of the city.”
COPE and the Green Party of Vancouver must bring the agreement to their general membership for ratification in order for it to go into effect.All three parties will be holding nomination conferences to establish their election candidates with their membership in the first half of May. The general election will be held on October 17th, 2026.
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MEDIA CONTACT:
Shawn Vulliez, COPE - cope@copevancouver.ca
Giovanna Orecchio, OneCity Vancouver - media@onecityvancouver.ca
Nick Poppell - Green Party of Vancouver - press@vangreens.ca