COPE Vancouver has released its 2026 election platform with pledges including expanded library hours, support for renters, and a universal school breakfast and lunch program.
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COPE Vancouver, a municipal party running candidates for Vancouver City Council, the School Board, and the Park Board, has unveiled its 2026 platform ahead of the city’s upcoming municipal election, positioning housing and public services as central priorities.
Among the platform’s key commitments, COPE said it would fully fund the city’s library service so libraries would be open seven days a week, and it also pledged to bring back the Renter’s Office.
COPE’s housing and affordability measures in the platform include a commitment to triple the empty homes tax, alongside actions aimed at reducing barriers faced by renters and households seeking affordable housing.
The platform also describes a climate-focused agenda, stating COPE would create a climate defence strategy, and it includes a commitment to fund a universal breakfast and lunch program for schools.
In a statement accompanying the platform, COPE said it would “conduct a people’s audit to review and report on Ken Sim’s term, identify violations of the public interest, support Vancouver City Workers, and set a path to clean up ABC’s mess,” framing the party’s approach as accountability and organizational repair.
COPE city councillor Sean Orr, who is running for re-election, said the platform is “about the Vancouver we need,” and he linked the party’s priorities to funding for libraries and public services, tenant protection, affordable housing, and measures to protect residents from climate events.
The platform presents a broader critique of the political system and housing market, stating that “the rich and powerful control our political system,” that “climate change is real and here,” and that “the housing system is rigged against us.”
According to COPE, its differences include a history of advocating for rent control, an empty homes tax, and free transit for kids, and the platform repeats those themes as part of its policy direction.
COPE also provided details on the mayoral-campaign coordination among progressive parties, stating that its mayoral candidate, Stephanie Allen, stepped out earlier this month to clear the path for a single mayoral candidate for COPE, OneCity, and the Vancouver Greens.
COPE said OneCity’s mayoral candidate, William Azaroff, later withdrew his mayoral candidacy and endorsed two-term city councillor Pete Fry, who is identified as a Green Party mayoral candidate, while COPE said it does not have a mayoral candidate in the race.
Despite not fielding a mayoral candidate, COPE said 12 candidates are running under the COPE Vancouver banner: four for City Council, four for the School Board, and four for the Park Board.
The party listed its City Council candidates as Sean Orr, Chloe Leslie, Devyani Sign, and Solomon Yi-Kieran; it listed School Board candidates as Suzie Mah, Melanie Cheng, Gwen Giesbrecht, and Derrick O’Keefe; and it listed Park Board candidates as Tamiko Suzuki, Sacia Burton, Jamie Han, and Cease Wyss.
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