VOTE Socialist becomes DSOV’s newest Working Group
VOTE Socialist, which received party status less than three months before the 2022 Vancouver Municipal Election, didn’t come close to getting elected. But the party demonstrated that it’s at least possible for socialists to run a serious campaign and propel our ideas into the mainstream discussion. VOTE Socialist was the first party to release a full platform, and several of the proposals got picked up or echoed by more established parties: granting the city the option to acquire apartment buildings or land for sale in order to expand the stock of public housing, for example (a policy already in place in Montreal), as well as a proposal for a free shuttle bus around Stanley Park.
Given the state of the world and of politics in Canada, we hope others will take heart from our emerging efforts here. The story isn’t epic or glamorous; it’s just a tale of rank-and-file working people getting together to raise the basic demand that society needs to, and can, do better for the majority. - Andrea Pinochet-Escudero, 2022 VOTE Socialist.
Back to its roots!
At a recent DSOV Steering Committee meeting it was unanimously agreed that VOTE Socialist return as a working group / campaign under the DSOV umbrella. In fact, the party began as a working group until the name Vancouver For All, but when it was decided they would run candidates, they needed to register with Elections BC as an electoral party in its own right.
VOTE Socialist has de-registered as a BC Electoral Party as of January 1, 2025. But the enormous amount of work on the part of volunteers and organizers that went into building their significant 16-point platform will not be lost! The VOTE Socialist website will remain in place and activities will continue as an electoral-focussed working group in the DSOV.
VOTE Socialist Website
VOTE Socialist Platform
Vancouver In Common
Reposted from votesocialist.ca
We need a united front to defeat Ken Sim and his billionaire backers
In 2022, Vote Socialist ran a single candidate for each level of city government: council, school board, and park board. Informed by listening circles and consultations with grassroots organizers, we developed and ran on a detailed platform we called “Vancouver for All.” And on voting day, tens of thousands of Vancouver residents cast a vote for one or more of our candidates.
In that election, the centrist and left-of-centre parties were crushed by a right-wing wave as Ken Sim and ABC swept to power flush with money from the likes of libertarian billionaire and real estate speculator Chip Wilson. Their election was aided by the political climate created in part by well-funded far-right influencers like Aaron Gunn and Angelo Isidorou, two of the key organizers behind the BC Conservatives, who produced and disseminated the propaganda film “Vancouver Is Dying” – an effort in mass disinformation and fearmongering also supported by their billionaire patron Wilson.
Conservative and far-right political forces are moving aggressively to win control of every level of political office in Canada and worldwide. In this context, the left needs to unite and must take seriously the work of organizing to influence, contest, and win elections.
In the interests of left unity and to maximize the potential for electing a representative of renters and working class people in Vancouver, Vote Socialist will not be nominating its own candidate in this year’s municipal by-election but will be encouraging supporters and activists to back the candidate who will:
Strongly advocate for the City to build public, coop and other social housing on city-owned land – and take real steps to end the frenzy of speculation and commodification of housing by advocating for vacancy control and for the City to have the Right of First Refusal on purchasing apartment buildings for sale.
Push for meaningful climate action that tangibly improves the lives of working-class people, such as expanded and fare-free public transit.
Refuse to vote for increases to the police budget that do nothing to contribute to public safety but in fact reduce the City budget available for urgently-needed public services.
Take concrete action to make Vancouver a Solidarity City, protecting workers and defending migrants and refugees under attack in this new era of far-right politics.
In recent discussions initiated by the Coalition of Progressive Electors (COPE), we are encouraged by COPE’s openness to uniting with others on the left towards achieving these ends. We look forward to working with COPE and other left organizations to help to elect a champion for renters and workers in Vancouver in the upcoming municipal by-election.
To win City Hall in 2026, the left will have to unite and broaden its appeal to elect a majority on city council. Voters at all levels are rejecting centrist defenders of the status quo. By coming together around a bold and transformative political agenda, and by building grassroots political power in all Vancouver’s neighbourhoods, we can defeat Sim and ABC.
Join the fight!
CIty Hall has announced a by-election April 5, 2025. There are two seats available and we’re going to put a socialist on council! We’ll need all hands on deck to help make this happen. By-elections have notoriously poor turnouts, only about 10% of the city’s population. Let’s do this differently in 2025.
We have started a category on our Discord for VOTE SOCIALIST. Here we well be organizing and planning, so please add it to your lists!
Watch for volunteer opportunities and events. See you there!