Where the candidates stand on housing
Every candidate for Mayor of Vancouver in 2026, on each housing question in the questionnaire. Verified positions come from the candidate’s own public material. Where there is none, a clearly labelled AI-assisted estimate is shown instead. How positions are found.
Vancouver should simplify and speed up approvals for new housing.
Amauri Caliman · Independent candidate
Strongly agree
I strongly support faster, simpler housing approvals while maintaining necessary safety and public-interest reviews. I want Vancouver to measure homes completed and occupied, not just applications processed. An approval is not a front door.
Confirmed by candidateConfirmed by candidate via email on September 30, 2026
Colleen Hardwick · TEAM for a Livable Vancouver
Strongly agree
Supports simplifying zoning, development and building-permit processes to reduce time and costs.
Published campaign materialPlanning for Livability & Affordability ↗
Kareem Allam · Vancouver Liberals
Strongly agree
Supports consolidating the City multiple housing-approval departments into a single process.
Published campaign materialKareem's Plan for a Better Vancouver ↗
Ken Sim · ABC Vancouver
Somewhat agree
ABC commits to cutting red tape and delivering a City that works for residents and businesses.
Why the model reads it this way: Applied to housing, ABC's general red-tape commitment suggests support for faster approvals, although the cited promise is not housing-specific.
Muhammad Ahmad · Bright Future Vancouver
Strongly agree
Would introduce a 21-day rule under which permits are automatically granted if not decided within 21 days.
Why the model reads it this way: The automatic-approval rule and a target of 2,000 homes approved or in the pipeline strongly indicate support for faster housing approvals.
Pete Fry · Green Party of Vancouver
Strongly agree
Supports streamlined permitting for low-rise apartments, row homes, townhomes, infill and wood-frame construction across Vancouver.
Candidate's own materialVancouver Greens: Building the Housing We Need at Home ↗
Rebecca Bligh · Vote Vancouver
Strongly agree
Supports simplifying and speeding up the development process.
Confirmed by candidateConfirmed by Vote Vancouver via email on October 1, 2026
Supporting public source:Housing & Belonging ↗
Scott Gilbert · Independent candidate
Somewhat agree
I favour accountable permitting and more homes with tenant, accessibility and servicing safeguards; "existing character" should not be a blanket veto on needed housing.
Confirmed by candidateConfirmed by candidate via email on October 2, 2026
New housing should only be approved where it fits the existing scale and character of the neighbourhood.
Amauri Caliman · Independent candidate
Somewhat disagree
Existing neighbourhood scale should not become a permanent ceiling on housing. I support thoughtful growth, including low-rise housing and greater density near transit, while considering infrastructure, heritage, services and neighbourhood impacts.
Confirmed by candidateConfirmed by candidate via email on September 30, 2026
Colleen Hardwick · TEAM for a Livable Vancouver
Strongly agree
TEAM will visit all 22 officially-designated neighbourhoods in the city of Vancouver to listen to residents' thoughts...
Condition: Density balanced against infrastructure capacity and neighbourhood context.
Candidate's own materialHome | TEAM for a Livable Vancouver ↗
Kareem Allam · Vancouver Liberals
Somewhat disagree
Would build more affordable housing in every part of the city and consolidate housing approvals into one process.
Why the model reads it this way: Allam prioritizes citywide housing growth and faster approvals, which points away from allowing homes only where they retain existing neighbourhood scale and character.
Ken Sim · ABC Vancouver
Somewhat disagree
Commits to making City Hall permitting faster and easier.
Why the model reads it this way: A broad faster-permitting commitment points away from restricting approvals to existing neighbourhood scale, but ABC does not directly address the scale-and-character test.
Muhammad Ahmad · Bright Future Vancouver
Somewhat disagree
Supports pre-zoning key neighbourhoods for family-sized, multigenerational, co-op and missing-middle housing.
Why the model reads it this way: Pre-zoning neighbourhoods for more housing points away from requiring every approval to preserve existing scale and character.
Published campaign materialInferred · moderate confidenceThe Roots Project | Bright Future Vancouver ↗
Pete Fry · Green Party of Vancouver
Somewhat disagree
Vancouver doesn't need one kind of housing everywhere. We need more ways for people to find a home that fits their life and their budget.
Candidate's own materialVancouver Greens: Building the Housing We Need at Home ↗
Rebecca Bligh · Vote Vancouver
Somewhat disagree
New projects will include a mix of towers, mid-rise and low-rise buildings, townhomes, and prefabricated modular housing, depending on the neighbourhood and the site.
Condition: Form determined by neighbourhood and site.
Confirmed by candidateConfirmed by Vote Vancouver via email on October 1, 2026
Supporting public source:Vote Vancouver — Policy Priorities (version 1.1) ↗
Scott Gilbert · Independent candidate
Somewhat disagree
I favour accountable permitting and more homes with tenant, accessibility and servicing safeguards; "existing character" should not be a blanket veto on needed housing.
Confirmed by candidateConfirmed by candidate via email on October 2, 2026
Vancouver should reverse the pause on new supportive-housing projects.
Amauri Caliman · Independent candidate
Somewhat agree
I support new supportive housing where it is professionally operated, properly staffed and connected to mental-health, addiction and recovery services. Location, safety, operator capacity and measurable outcomes should be part of every approval.
Confirmed by candidateConfirmed by candidate via email on September 30, 2026
Colleen Hardwick · TEAM for a Livable Vancouver
Neutral or mixed
Growth and development should be planned in consultation with local residents and within the scale and context of each neighbourhood.
Why the model reads it this way: TEAM supports housing and services but emphasizes neighbourhood fit and consultation. That does not point clearly toward maintaining or reversing this specific pause, so the estimate is mixed.
Kareem Allam · Vancouver Liberals
Strongly agree
Supports ending the pause on new supportive housing.
Published campaign materialKareem's Plan for a Better Vancouver ↗
Ken Sim · ABC Vancouver
Strongly disagree
The ABC-led council maintained the restriction on net-new supportive-housing projects covered by the pause.
Why the model reads it this way: The pause was maintained by the ABC-led council and Sim's current campaign does not propose reversing it. Continuity with that governing decision strongly indicates opposition to reversal.
Muhammad Ahmad · Bright Future Vancouver
Somewhat agree
Would create a permanent affordable rental stream building subsidised, non-market and below-market rental homes.
Why the model reads it this way: Ahmad's housing and culturally safe support commitments suggest support for allowing new supportive housing, though he has not addressed the pause directly.
Published campaign materialInferred · moderate confidenceThe Roots Project | Bright Future Vancouver ↗
Pete Fry · Green Party of Vancouver
Somewhat agree
At the September 8 mayoral debate, Fry was reported as firmly supporting reversal of the pause on new supportive-housing units.
Other sourceVancouver mayoral candidates debate ↗
Rebecca Bligh · Vote Vancouver
Strongly agree
Supports ending the pause on new supportive housing.
Confirmed by candidateConfirmed by Vote Vancouver via email on October 1, 2026
Supporting public source:Vancouver keeps new supportive housing on pause ↗
Scott Gilbert · Independent candidate
Somewhat agree
Supportive homes should be evaluated on sound design, staffing and community outcomes.
Confirmed by candidateConfirmed by candidate via email on October 2, 2026