An in-depth profile of Vancouver mayor Ken Sim: his rise to power, his impact during his first year in office and a glimpse into the future.
Ken Sim swept to power a year ago promising to reduce waste, make our streets safer and bring Vancouver’s “swagger” back. But can his open-book style win over the critics?’m sitting on a couch in the mayor’s third-floor offices, and Ken Sim is walking over to his turntable to put on another record. “How about the Police? I love this album.
But it also fits a pattern that’s developing with Ken Sim as a leader entirely comfortable in his own skin. He’s in a hurry to accomplish big things—no matter who’s watching and what they might say . And he eagerly embraces the idea of bringing Vancouver’s “swagger” back—outlined in his inaugural State of the City address, and underlined when he shotgunned a beer at July’s Khatsahlano Street Party.
sacrificed in moving from Hong Kong in 1967, with $3,200 to their name. Sim—born on October 18, 1970—is the youngest of Francis and Theresa Sim’s five children; the first three were born in Hong Kong, where Francis was a banker, while Ken and an older sister were born in Vancouver. “I remember waking up at about two o’clock in the morning to my mom screaming, and I came upstairs and I looked at her,” says Sim. “She was really confused. And she said, ‘He hit me! He hit me!’ And then I went up to my dad and said, ‘Don’t you ever fucking hit my mom.’ And I grabbed my mom and brought her downstairs. And she slept in my room.”
It was in the early days of Nurse Next Door that the seeds for Sim’s political future would also be sown. At the time, the company had an office on West 41st Avenue in Kerrisdale, where Sim and his small team were neighbours with Provident Security, led by Mike Jagger. The two men became fast friends—and Jagger soon encouraged Sim to join the Vancouver chapter of the Entrepreneurs’ Organization, where Jagger was a member.
I spot the mayor on the sidelines—leaning on his black e-bike and decked out in a white T-shirt, teal shorts and aviator glasses. He’s talking to a player twice his size—and as soon I’m identified as a member of the press, the player playfully puts Sim in a headlock. “Where’s my money for the fields, Ken?”
Sim’s inaugural run at politics wasn’t quite so successful. In March of 2018, he had received a call from a high school acquaintance, Greg Baker, who was then president of the Non-Partisan Association . “I hadn’t spoken to Greg in maybe 30 years,” says Sim. “So I knew he was calling about one thing.
On some files, like Chinatown, there have been clear advances: council unanimously approved the Uplifting Chinatown Action Plan in January, which devotes more resources to cleaning and sanitation services, graffiti removal, beautification and other community supports. The plan also includes a new flat rate of $2 per hour for parking meters throughout Chinatown and a new satellite City Hall office, to improve representation.
Those working on the Downtown Eastside see things differently. Sarah Blyth, who is executive director of the Overdose Prevention Society and has an apartment on Hastings, gets noticeably agitated when I bring up Wilson’s name: “Chip Wilson has no business talking about poverty and harm reduction—unless he has some help to offer.”
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