History is made as Vancouver elects its first-ever Asian mayor

Editor’s note (10/19/22): A previous version of this article referred to Kennedy Stewart as “Kennedy Stuart” and identified his party as the Non-Partisan Association instead of Forward Together. Sim also prevailed against Stewart by more than 36,000 votes, rather than the 957 votes mentioned. We regret these errors.

Entrepreneur Ken Sim has been elected as mayor of Vancouver, British Columbia, marking the first time a person of Asian descent has held the city’s highest political office.

“Vancouver has elected its first Chinese mayor,” Sim announced in his victory speech. “The history of the moment is not lost on me.”

Born and raised in Vancouver, a city with one of Canada’s largest Chinese immigrant populations, Sim received a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of British Columbia. After graduation, Sim co-founded Nurse Next Door Homecare Services, a home-care service provider for seniors.

Sim’s victory was historic in more ways than one. His election also marks the first time a candidate has unseated an incumbent Vancouver mayor in over 40 years. Sim prevailed against Forward Together’s Kennedy Stewart by more than 36,000 votes.

All 19 candidates from Sim’s political party, A Better City, were also elected to their respective seats. The results signify a massive win for the center-right-leaning party, which secured majorities on Vancouver’s City Council, Park Board and School Board.

But Sim is spending no time celebrating his historical accomplishment and is reportedly focused on “hitting the ground running” to fulfill his many campaign promises. He announced he would be taking measures to resolve the city’s pressing healthcare and crime issues by requisitioning 100 new police officers and 100 mental health nurses on day one.

“On day one we’re going to requisition for 100 new police officers and 100 mental health nurses,” Sim promised in his speech. “We’re going to stop the road tax. We’re going to plant the first 100,000 new trees.”

Some long-term goals that Sim has campaigned for include outfitting all patrolling city police with body cameras by 2025 and creating a new mental health treatment center. Sim has also said he is dedicated to ensuring affordable housing in the form of a more efficient permit system.

“If we do not fix that process, all the housing we’re going to build won’t happen, and housing will not be affordable,” said Sim during the campaign.

Featured Image via CBC News

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