In October of 2022, something unprecedented happened in Vancouver politics: the Vancouver Police Union, representing what is meant to be a non-partisan civil service group, endorsed Ken Sim and his ABC party in the municipal election.
In the months leading up to the election, the VPD went on a media blitz to create a panic about “stranger assaults”, posting daily social media stories and putting out a staggering 52 news releases. It came out after the vote that crime had been falling all year, and that they misled the public regarding crime statistics.
The relationship was reciprocal. Ken Sim and ABC made “public safety” central to their campaign, and the promise to hire 100 new cops and 100 new nurses was a cornerstone promise. They even picked former VPU spokesperson Brian Montague as a council candidates, despite him not even living in Vancouver.
The plan worked. Ken Sim swept to power, the VPD got 100 new cops (the plan for 100 new nurses quickly abandoned), and ABC wrote the VPD a blank cheque year after year, even while slashing spending elsewhere.
The police union faced no consequences for lying about crime statistics. (Indeed, the president of the union at the time, Ralph Kaisers, was chosen by ABC as their candidate in the 2024 by-election, despite Kaisers being under investigation for helping cover up a police-led murder.)
We’re coming up to another election and the strategy is repeating itself. On social media, ABC and their candidates have used the hashtag #PublicSafety over 100 times this summer.
They’re creating moral panics about drug use, overdose prevention sites, and random assaults. They replaced the outgoing Montague with another VPU member as a candidate. And like clockwork, the VPD are ramping up their efforts again.
You’d be forgiven for thinking that Sim and ABC care deeply about public safety. But their record tells a different story. Because while it’s true they’ve been very generous with police funds, Vancouver is less safe than it was 4 years ago directly because of their actions.
The largest source of preventable injury and death in Vancouver is vehicle crashes. There are 1.8 random assaults in Vancouver per day. Undeniably, it should be zero (fortunately it’s been falling for years, long before Sim was in office). But this number pales in comparison to the 20.6 Vancouverites injured in motor vehicle crashes every day. These crashes disproportionately affect our most vulnerable road users, with 56% of serious injuries occurring in cyclists or pedestrians, and half of fatalities being seniors.
The police’s own 2025 statistics show that crime continues to fall across the board in every measured category, except traffic fatalities, which are skyrocketing.
You’d think with such glaring numbers, the police would be taking it seriously. The opposite is true. A Freedom of Information request shows that the number of tickets issued by police has plummeted since ABC took power. This isn’t because drivers are safer – take a 15 minute walk outside if you think this is the case. It’s because despite their skyrocketing budget, they’ve stopped prioritizing this issue at all. Why? You’ll have to ask our elected leaders.
When looking at pedestrian fatalities alone, 2025 was the deadliest year in Vancouver in two decades. Thirteen pedestrians were killed on our roads, and this doesn’t even include the 11 others killed at the terrible Lapu Lapu tragedy.
In fact, the 41 pedestrians killed in the past 4 years on Vancouver roads is the highest number for any 4-year period as far back as we could find numbers.
If you’re curious whether Sim or ABC are talking about this issue, or mentioned these 13 lost lives at all, we’ve checked and the answer is no. They pretend it doesn’t happen; and it’s no wonder, because they’ve made road safety worse.
In just under 4 years, Ken Sim and ABC have:
- Torn out the Stanley Park bike lane
- Refused to lower the speed limit on Cornwall to 30km/h.
- Cancelled plans for Broadway Active Transport lanes.
- Rejected additional automated speed and red light cameras at our most dangerous intersections.
- Tried to tear out the Beach Avenue bike lane.
- Passed an austerity budget that led to dozens of transportation staff being laid off.
- And gutted city staff’s excellent Vision Zero Action Plan, which would have lowered speeds on high-pedestrian arterials such as Main St, Robson, Demnan, or Commercial Drive – streets where so many of the fatal crashes happen.
It’s abundantly clear that ABC has not only abandoned road safety; they’ve actually made our streets more dangerous. This is an issue that affects all of us.
Together, ABC and the VPD decided that public safety is going to be 2026’s number one issue again. OK, sure!
At Vision Zero we know how important public safety is. Car crashes are the #1 source of preventable death and injury in our City. Ken Sim and ABC have been negligent in their duty. We’re tired of seeing our loved ones injured or killed on our streets. We can’t afford another 4 years of moving backwards. There’s no such thing as public safety without road safety. Remember that when you’re at the polls.
Vision Zero Vancouver 