Kennedy Stewart’s Forward Together ticket releases platform as Vancouver mayor race tightens
Forward Together, the party led by Vancouver mayoral incumbent Kennedy Stewart, released its election platform on Tuesday.
The plan includes some new ideas and also recycles some unfulfilled promises made by Stewart four years ago.
The most ambitious part of the platform relates to housing and calls for 220,000 new units to be built over the next decade with 140,000 of those being rentals.
"We're going to change how we approve housing in this city to get it done faster. I understand people are finding it tough. I know what it's like to live with the stress of housing insecurity,” Stewart said.
“But no other platform is going to address this. No one else has the knowledge and know how to get the funding from provincial and federal governments."
Forward Together is also promising to do away with the city’s at-large system for electing city councillors and replace it with a ward system where residents only vote for the councillor representing their section of the city.
Stewart made a similar pledge four years ago when he ran as an independent but it went unfulfilled.
Asked about it Tuesday, Stewart said he brought it forward but didn’t have enough support on council to make it happen.
As part of his 2018 platform, Stewart also promised to “end big money influence on elections.”
There is no similar commitment in Forward Together’s platform this election.
Last month, a resident found a fundraising document linked to Forward Together on the sidewalk on West Broadway.
It lists several of the city's most prominent and wealthy developers as fundraising captains with specific dollar amounts listed next to their names.
Embattled Vancouver Canucks owner Francesco Aquilini had a fundraising goal of $110,000 listed next to his name.
Asked about it on Tuesday, Stewart would only say Forward Together follows campaign finance regulations.
“Under Elections BC rules, corporations and unions cannot donate to parties, only individuals can,” Stewart said. "If you look at our disclosure on the website, you'll see the amounts that individuals are giving and that is what is required by Elections BC rules and that's what's being reported,” said Stewart.
The platform release comes just as new polling data shows the mayor’s race tightening.
According to numbers from Research Co., Stewart has the support of 36 per cent of decided voters, with Ken Sim of the ABC Party just behind at 34 per cent and Colleen Hardwick of TEAM For a Livable Vancouver polling in third with 14 per cent support.
Stewart beat Sim, then with the Non-Partisan Association, by less than a thousand votes to win the mayor’s seat in the 2018 election.
"The phone calls to those supporters are going to be coming in hard in the next couple of weeks because with an election this close, it's ultimately about who can get their vote out,” said Research Co.’s Mario Canseco.
Public safety, crime and street disorder have been the key campaign priorities for both Sim and Hardwick while Stewart has made affordable housing his central plank.
The Forward Together platform does include some promises related to policing, public safety and the opioid crisis.
Stewart says if re-elected, he will support fully funding Vancouver Police Board budget requests.
He has also promised to turn a section of East Hastings Street into what he calls a ‘wellness corridor’ with Indigenous-focused facilities and services and a new neighbourhood park.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
From outer space? Sask. farmers baffled after discovering strange wreckage in field
A family of fifth generation farmers from Ituna, Sask. are trying to find answers after discovering several strange objects lying on their land.
Pearson gold heist suspect arrested after flying into Toronto from India
Another suspect is in custody in connection with the gold heist at Toronto Pearson International Airport last year, police say.
Justin and Hailey Bieber are expecting their first child together
Hailey and Justin Bieber are going to be parents. The couple announced the news on Thursday on Instagram, both sharing a video that showcases Hailey Bieber's growing belly.
New analysis of Beethoven's hair reveals possible cause of mysterious ailments, scientists say
High levels of lead detected in authenticated locks of Ludwig van Beethoven's hair suggest that the composer had lead poisoning, which may have contributed to ailments he endured over the course of his life, including deafness, according to new research.
Debate on abortion rights erupts on Parliament Hill, Poilievre vows he won't legislate
A Conservative government led by Pierre Poilievre would not legislate on, nor use the notwithstanding clause, on abortion, his office says, as anti-abortion protesters gather on Parliament Hill.
B.C. man used Bobcat as 'weapon' while chasing away homeless people, judge says
A B.C. man has been convicted of assault with a weapon after using a skid-steer Bobcat to chase two homeless people from his lawn, injuring one of them in the process.
Ontario family receives massive hospital bill as part of LTC law, refuses to pay
A southwestern Ontario woman has received an $8,400 bill from a hospital in Windsor, Ont., after she refused to put her mother in a nursing home she hated -- and she says she has no intention of paying it.
Flat tire on a highway? Here's why you shouldn't try to fix it
If you're cruising down a highway and realize you have a flat tire, you may want to think twice before stopping to fix it on the side of the road.
Miss Teen USA steps down just days after Miss USA's resignation
Miss Teen USA resigned Wednesday, sending further shock waves through the pageant community just days after Miss USA said she would relinquish her crown.