Thanks to the Mike Smyth show for having me on today! Robin Gill was hosting, and we had a great chat about whether there is too much rental housing being built. Obviously, that's a view I disagree with, and it's easy to see why: THE RENT IS STILL WAY TOO HIGH! megaphone.link/CORU3905564191

CBC uncovers 14 accounts from India, Pakistan, Indonesia posting on popular Alberta separatist groups www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Risk = probability x impact. Over the next 50 years, there's a 20% chance of a major earthquake hitting Vancouver. And the city of Vancouver has a lot of pre-1990 buildings, built before modern seismic standards. morehousing.ca/earth...

From 2007-2016 the average number of new purpose built rental units across BC was ~2,500 per year. In 2025 it was 26,000! 🎉 Asking rents are going down ⬇️ Vacancy rates are going up, creating more choice for renters ⬆️ We’re delivering #HomesForPeople, in communities they love. ❤️ #BCPoli

E24-24, my proposal to raise the IBC’s single-stair apartment building height limit from three stories to four, has passed the final membership vote, and will now officially make it into the 2027 IBC 🎉

Coriolis' report says single-stair on single lots isn't viable even at 1.75 fsr, but 1.2 FSR townhouses may be in some places. Not a good sign for building SES in general.

I am proud to accept the endorsement of the Vancouver and District Labour Council. Every single Vancouverite deserves an affordable home, strong public services, a good job, and a living wage. We’ll return respect for workers to City Hall when we retake the Mayor’s Office on October 17 #vanpoli

By now, you might have heard that Mayor Ken Sim is trying one more time to roll back Vancouver’s green building standards, by bringing back a motion on May 20th which will effectively gut good climate policies in new building development. (1/7)

The OneCity nomination race concluded last night. It was a very strong field, and I didn’t make it onto the ballot, but I’m grateful to everyone who supported my nomination run! Next phase: volunteering over the summer, before the October election. morehousing.ca/nomin...

The OneCity nomination vote for Vancouver city council, school board, and park board candidates closes on Sunday May 10 at midnight, with the results announced on Monday May 11. My closing pitch to OneCity members: morehousing.ca/letter

Voting is now open in the OneCity nomination race. I'm running for a council nomination, because I want to be able to help William Azaroff and Lucy Maloney make housing in Vancouver less maddeningly scarce and expensive. How to vote:

Trio of progressive parties agree to cap candidates in upcoming Vancouver election www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

Big news. OneCity, COPE, and the Greens have signed a Progressive Unity Agreement. We did the hard work, and we got it done. Here's what it means and why it matters.

I had a good chat with @ionabonamis.bsky.social the other day. She is a smart transportation planner. @pwaldkirch.bsky.social, @russilwvong.bsky.social, and @fabulavancouver.bsky.social are home runs, but I think OneCity voters should consider Iona, too.

Summary of MVRD staff report on delaying planned DCC increases. Seriously? In order to avoid a $30/year increase in utility bills - not per month, per *year* - Metro Vancouver has been raising the minimum cost of new housing by thousands of dollars?

I'm one of 12 OneCity nomination candidates for Vancouver city council. There's also 7 for school board, and 3 for park board - 22 in total. We'll each send only one email to OneCity members, who will start voting on May 3. Here's mine:

We're heading into the final stretch of the OneCity nomination race, concluding May 10. Thank you to everyone who's joined OneCity, made a donation, and helped with my campaign!

This is really quite good. Short and to the point.

Today, Mayor Ken Sim, on behalf of Vancouverites, leveraged investments in Ontario as a reason to complain that the Province and the Federal Government are failing to invest in Vancouver. I have some things to say about this. 1/12 #VanPoli #CANPoli🇨🇦 #YVR

The Vancouver Greens have announced seven nominees for city council this election. They include former Park Board Chair Camil Dumont and 2025 byelection candidate Annette Reilly. They, like COPE and OneCity, say they're still "negotiating" for some sort of combined progressive slate.

California

In 2024 @christineboyle.bsky.social had a motion to immediately install suicide prevention barriers on Granville Bridge. The ABC majority delayed it to the 2027-30 Capital Plan. Then they passed a "zero means zero" budget and this ultimately won't get funded at all.

Yesterday morning I went to the West Coast Leaf 2026 Equality Breakfast celebrating International Women’s Day with a number of @onecityvan.bsky.social candidate nominees including @ionabonamis.bsky.social, @russilwvong.bsky.social and Michael Tan.

Ah jeez. A citizen just called my office saying there is a fake website set up to look like a CBC News story. The fake story uses my name and image (along with new Telus CEO Victor Dodig) to endorse some sleazy AI investing product. In March of the year 2026, is there really anything I can do?

Ken Sim has to hold a press conference today because: - On Day 1 Sim threw his councillor under the bus for false drug dealer claims - On Day 2 Sim was revealed to have also said it, but ducked the press -On Day 3 Sim said “I apologized” on a loop without saying why So now we get Day 4

How many more popular community events are going to wither and die under Ken Sim’s mayorship? dailyhive.com/vancouver/va... ht @city-duo.bsky.social

This is extremely disappointing. Car-free Day street festivals are a key part of our civic life here in Vancouver, a city that frankly needs more fun, festivals and civic life. I’ll await the honest details of what led to this. CC @vpsn.bsky.social @miss604.com @lucymaloney.bsky.social

I am saddened to learn that Vancouver Car Free Days will not take place this year. These events celebrate our neighbourhoods & small businesses, & encourage folks to use active transport. I’ll work with Car Free Vancouver Society, impacted orgs & businesses, & Council to get them back on the road!

I'm so sad--but also frustrated!--by this. I LOVE Car Free Day. It was such a fun way to see what our streets COULD be: full of life, family, community, and local business...not just cars. Something is very, very wrong in Vancouver when such a wildly popular event can't make it work.

"Maybe the city's full" says the man living in a 2.7 million dollar house on Palmerston, while sipping $170 scotch after defeating a multiplex proposal across the street. www.pressreader.com/canada/toron...

one of the great things about taking harbour air is seeing the stark urban geography of metro vancouver from such a unique view

I think this is a pretty good reason to have nothing to do with @kareem42.bsky.social and the "Vancouver Liberals"; they're NIMBYing new hotels using completely BS concerns about parks

"The crash highlights an unsettling truth about the city: despite its bike-friendly reputation and mild climate, recent years have seen Vancouver fall behind peers such as Montreal or Edmonton in making its streets safer [especially outside the downtown core]."

Here's a fun slide from the road conditions update happening at Vancouver City Council right now - yes that's right, a 400+ year backlog on sidewalks.

Hey, some good news

It happens to 50,000 people in the lower mainland every year, and on Friday it happened to @rhifaux.bsky.social. Was it an accident? We think this was the predictable result of government inaction.

Trying something to help visualize land usage per household (which I think is one of the most useful ways to think about cities)

Ken Sim won’t be defeated by posts, polls, or prayers. He’ll be defeated in a vote. That takes conviction in a single progressive candidate who can unify this city.

So, Brendan, Why is the Millennium Line Bad?

Ken Sim and ABC Vancouver just killed the Social Housing Initiative. A program that could have actually gotten people off the streets and into homes? Dead.

I spoke to Dan Fumano about proposed actions to address costs affecting development viability to help unlock new housing supply. Prices and rents are dropping, which is good, but costs need commensurately go down if we are to keep building housing. vancouversun.com/opinion/colu...

Brian Montague, who bluntly has appeared to enjoy being a councillor less than any councillor I’ve ever covered, has announced he won’t be running for re-election

This is a failure of the Ministry/SB system, which doesn’t even react well, let alone plan. I was saying before the 2010 Olympics to build the school early or it would be objected to. And they should have ALWAYS planned it for 4 storeys. In any case, build it now. The “character” there is density.

omg some Olympic Village residents are trying to NIMBY the elementary school. They're citing "neighbourhood character" for why four floors is just too much damned school for their neighbourhood

Great intro to #yvrpoli #yimby by @russilwvong.bsky.social morehousing.substack.com/p/bonsai-city

@vancouversun.bsky.social Following up about lane buildings and hydro Powerline setbacks. As I say here, if this has happened with 9 different design / build teams then it’s a systemic problem not a one-off error. 🧵 vancouversun.com/opinion/colu...

There were a lot of emails flying around last week as the city worked to clarify the rules. In theory the powerline clearances are up to the builder to coordinate with hydro, but hydro's diagrams were confusing, and the design setbacks weren't being flagged by the city at permit review.

This is a good summary of Vancouver's broken planning system (by planning staff!). 871 site-specific zoning districts (27 new ones every year), 3-4 years to get a property rezoned and get a building permit council.vancouver.ca/20250722/doc...

This thread is incredible.

North Saanich finally passes OCP after years of battles www.timescolonist.com/local-news/n... #yyj