Zohran Mamdani’s lightning-in-a-bottle campaign took just nine short months to rally New York City’s largest voter turnout in over half a century—collectively defeating Democratic powerhouse Andrew Cuomo and Republican Curtis Sliwa with 50.78% of the vote in New York’s mayoral elections this past November. A historic win built on the field work of over 100,000 volunteers, Mamdani’s successful campaign moved the democratic socialist from unknown assemblyman to Mayor of America’s largest city.
This year, Vancouver’s left-wing look to accomplish a similar feat: elect a socialist candidate to unseat the incumbent Mayor Ken Sim of the centre-right ABC party.
With election day on October 17, 2026, there’s less than nine months left to go.
OneCity Vancouver’s potential candidates
OneCity Vancouver seats one elected city councillor, Lucy Maloney, and is currently fielding 2 mayoral nominee candidates for selection at their AGM on February 11th, 2026.
The first: William Azaroff, born and raised in Vancouver, with 20 years of experience in housing, partnerships, and organizations. Azaroff is CEO of Brightside Community Homes, which is certified as a Living Wage Employer. Previously, Azaroff worked as an executive at Vancity, managing $4 billion in community investments, and has also served as a board director of various community organizations, including the BC Non-Profit Housing Association, Modo, and the Vancouver International Film Festival.
Competing against Azaroff is Amanda Burrows, who announced her running for OneCity Vancouver’s nomination in December 2025. Burrows is Executive Director of First United, an organization that works in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside providing social services, including a $94 million Indigenous social housing project. Burrows has over 20 years in organizing and advocacy, and currently serves on the Ken Lyotier Fund Advisory Committee, the DTES Community Land Trust Coalition, and the Board of the Vancouver Opera.
COPE has yet to put forward a candidate for mayoral nomination, though many eyes look towards their elected city councilor: Sean Orr.
Orr is a vocal housing activist and columnist who has taken to writing directly to constituents through The Orr Report: a regular recap of his service on city council tackling the council’s agenda, from budget battles to upcoming motions. His straightforward and pointed writing style—calling out Ken Sim and his “billionaire-backed party” on any number of decisions—reflects a growing populist sentiment on class divide.
“We were getting the impression during the by-election that there’s a huge untapped group of people who wanted something to be excited about and something to believe in, and they wanted to see that kind of left populist politics,” said COPE co-chair Shawn Vulliez for CBC News.
Will Vancouver’s left-wing be united or divided?
OneCity Vancouver, COPE, and the Green Party all seem to be searching for their candidate to ignite the energy of voters. It remains unclear if Vancouver’s left-wing will be able to rally around a single candidate, or risk splitting votes.
Mayor Sim has stated plans to run for re-election. On January 21, 2026, Mayor Sim and his ABC party voted against restoring Vancouver’s Living Wage policy. On Instagram, COPE and Sean Orr posted:
“No surprise, since killing off the Living Wage was one of their first orders of business after taking office. ABC is all about tax breaks for their super-rich pals and austerity for the rest of us. Related: Election Day is October 17.”
Orr and the COPE party stand out as advocates for reform-based action, pushed for by the people. History shows that it is mass mobilization that makes reform possible, and Vancouver’s Left will need to mobilize a hungry voter base if they hope to see change come October.
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