Despite a number of right-leaning parties in the Vancouver election, ABC’s Ken Sim made history as the first Chinese-Canadian mayor as his party swept the polls in Vancouver Saturday with majorities on council, school board and parks board. “One-hundred and thirty-five years after the first Chinese head tax was paid just for the right to come here and work on building the railway, Vancouver has elected its first Chinese Canadian mayor,” Sim said. “The history of this moment isn’t lost on me, but the honour really goes to the shoulders I am standing on.”

By DESIBUZZCanada Staff With News Files

VANCOUVER – Despite a number of right-leaning parties in the Vancouver election, ABC’s Ken Sim made history as the first Chinese-Canadian mayor as his party swept the polls in Vancouver Saturday with majorities on council, school board and parks board. 

Vancouver voters sent a clear message in overwhelmingly choosing Sim over incumbent Mayor Kennedy Stewart.

Saturday’s landslide was a far cry from the 2018 nail-biter in which Stewart defeated Sim by fewer than 1,000 votes.

Describing his election as the “longest job interview ever,” Sim told cheering supporters they would see a difference in city hall.

“ABC Vancouver was born out of a desire for change, a desire to do politics differently,” he said.

“It was born on the province that decision in government should not be made on the advice of polls, lobbyists, activists, or whatever is trending on Twitter, but instead it should be made on the advice of parents and educators and scientists and healthcare providers and what’s happening in community town halls and coffee shops.”

Sim, an entrepreneur and co-founder of Rosemary Rocksalt bagels, is the City of Vancouver’s first mayor of Asian heritage.

“One-hundred and thirty-five years after the first Chinese head tax was paid just for the right to come here and work on building the railway, Vancouver has elected its first Chinese Canadian mayor,” he said.

“The history of this moment isn’t lost on me, but the honour really goes to the shoulders I am standing on.”

Stewart conceded, acknowledging Sim’s win was a “solid one,” and wishing him luck in what he predicted would be a “tough” four years.

“These last four years have been pretty tough, we’ve accomplished a lot but I do think we got the city through pretty hard times,” Stewart said.

“This is not the result we wanted, of course, but it is the result the voters have given us and we have to respect it.”