‘Let’s get to work’: Vancouver’s new mayor strikes collaborative note as council sworn in

In his first remarks after being sworn in as the mayor of Vancouver, Pete Fry emphasized the importance of listening and working collaboratively.

It was a theme Fry often repeated during this year’s campaign and in the weeks since his win over incumbent mayor Ken Sim of ABC Vancouver in the Oct. 17 election. Now that Fry, Vancouver’s first Green mayor, will oversee a council with members of four different parties and no majority, he will immediately have a chance to put that spirit of collaboration to work.

Speaking to a packed house from the stage of the 99-year-old, city-owned Orpheum Theatre, Fry said: “I may be mayor, but I’m also a neighbour, and being a good neighbour means listening carefully. It means showing up. It means working through difficult conversations, and staying at the table, even when things get complicated.”

Disagreements are bound to happen, and this council will need to make some tough decisions, Fry said.

“My hope for the four years ahead is that we can set a tone that reflects the very best of Vancouver, a city where disagreement doesn’t have to become division, and where listening is valued as much as speaking.”

“Years from now, nobody’s going to remember every motion that we passed, or every debate that we had, or every headline that was written.

“What they’ll remember is how this city made them feel, whether they felt welcome, whether they felt heard, whether they felt like they belonged. If together we can strengthen that sense of belonging, then we would have done something truly meaningful. A city where you belong. A city that works for you. That work starts today, and I’m honoured to be a part of it,” Fry said.

“Thank you for the opportunity to serve the city we all love. Let’s get to work.”

The ceremony incorporated elements of Indigenous culture in the remarks from leaders from the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh Nations, elements of Asian traditions with a rousing performance by the Vancouver Police Department’s Lion Dance Team, and elements of British traditions with the familiar sounds of the VPD’s pipes and drums.

The crowd included former Vancouver mayors Kennedy Stewart and Larry Campbell, several former city councillors from different parties, newly elected MLAs from both the B.C. NDP and B.C. Conservatives, and members of Parliament, including Fry’s mother, longtime Liberal MP Hedy Fry.

Fred Lee, Vancouver’s man-about-town, acted as MC, telling the new council: “We wish you wisdom, courage, compassion, and success in the very important work ahead. We are all cheering you on, because your success is ultimately our city’s success.”

After four years of centre-right ABC Vancouver having a majority on council, the new council is mostly made up of councillors from three left-of-centre parties — the Greens, COPE, and OneCity — that worked together before the election to limit the number of candidates to avoid splitting the progressive vote.