Ousted ABC councillor announces bid for mayor of Vancouver as 2026 race takes shape

Rebecca Bligh, Vancouver city councillor, speaks to reporters on Feb. 14, 2025, after being ejected from Mayor Ken Sim's ABC Party.

City Councillor Rebecca Bligh announced her intention to run for mayor in the next municipal election Monday, along with her new party Vote Vancouver.

Bligh has been sitting as an independent since the ruling ABC party kicked her out of the caucus in February, after she opposed Mayor Ken Sim’s controversial moratorium on supportive housing.

At the time, the party said Bligh was “not aligned with the shared priorities and team-oriented approach that defines ABC Vancouver.”

The councillor said her new party will focus on affordability and building homes.

“I’m running for mayor because I am grateful for what Vancouver has given to me and my family, but I also know what it feels like when the system doesn’t work for you,” Bligh said in a statement announcing her campaign.

“As someone who was able to raise a family and purchase a home in this beautiful city, that reality feels further out of reach for so many.”

Bligh announced her bid for major in front of the Vancouver city hall on Monday, and was quick to take shots at Sim’s current approach.

“Now what we see is a mayor that’s taking shortcuts, making big announcements to look busy, to look like he’s being effective, but at the end of the day, that’s actually what residents feel,” she said.

Progressive party OneCity has responded to the announcement, issuing a statement opposing Bligh as a candidate.

“Rebecca Bligh voted to slash wages for workers, to block rental housing in wealthy neighbourhoods, and to oppose common sense tools to properly fund our schools,” co-chair Casra Ng said in the statement.

“We need a progressive mayor on the ballot to deliver the change Vancouver needs. And we’ll get one.”

OneCity said it would announce its own mayoral candidate in the coming weeks.

Also in the running is Kareem Allan, Sim’s former chief of staff, under his new party Vancouver Liberals.

“I genuinely want to welcome her to the race,” Allam told CTV News on Monday. “I think she brings a perspective that will enhance the calibre and the quality of debate.”

But Allam – who will run under the banner of the newly created Vancouver Liberals party - was quick to distance himself from both Sim and Bligh when asked about the trio’s ABC connections.

“We have nothing in common with ABC,” Allam said. “The Vancouver Liberals have nothing in common with either of those two candidates.”

Allam criticized Bligh’s support of Sim’s party, mentioning property tax increases and ABC’s handling of the public safety file.

Former Mayor Kennedy Stewart hasn’t decided if he’s running yet – but finds some amusement in three candidates with ABC links already entering the race.

“From my perspective, I think, well, which version of Ken Sim do you want,” Stewart said, Monday.

“You’ve got Ken Sim himself, you have Kareem Allam, whose his former campaign manager, and then you have Rebecca Bligh, who ran with Sim twice.”

CTV News asked Stewart just how seriously he is considering a run for mayor next year.

“I really care about the city, I always have,” Stewart said.

“I think I did a good job through the term I was mayor. I think there’s unfinished things that I have to do. I think that the housing is not where it needs to be. So I do think about this stuff very actively. I sometimes find myself doing speeches in the shower, so it is an active consideration but I haven’t made my mind up yet.”

ABC will enter next year’s election in uncertain territory after a poor showing in April’s byelection, suggested UBC political scientist Stewart Prest.

“Given the severity of the beatdown, if you like, you have to take something from that byelection,” Prest said of ABC’s chances.

“They’re constantly playing defence on issues, on territory that they’re mapping out. That suggests there’s a real problem there because they did lose so badly.”

Prest mentioned controversies involving the integrity commissioner and the threat to dismantle the park board as “self-inflicted wounds” that have created challenges for the party.

The mayor’s office confirmed to CTV News on Monday that Sim plans to run for re-election, but he was not made available for an interview.

In a statement, Sim said he respects “anyone who puts their name forward to serve in public office.”

The mayor added he will prioritize making the city safer, more affordable and more vibrant.

Vancouver’s next civic election is expected in October 2026.

With files from CTV News Vancouver’s Martin MacMahon