Vancouver city councillor wins B.C. NDP nomination ahead of provincial election

Vancouver city councillor Christine Boyle will hit the campaign trail soon after securing the NDP nomination in the new Vancouver-Little Mountain riding over fellow progressive Andrea Reimer.

If Boyle is successful in the provincial election, the city will be required to hold a by-election to fill her council seat and some say that could turn into a mid-term referendum on Mayor Ken Sim and his A Better City council majority.

The nomination was up for grabs because Environment Minister George Heyman has declared he will not be seeking re-election.

He actually endorsed former Vancouver city councillor Reimer for the nomination.

"I have a huge amount of respect for Andrea and I heard again and again that people were disappointed they couldn't vote for both of us,” Boyle said.

Heyman secured 56 percent of the vote in 2020 in a riding that was then known as Vancouver-Fairview but became Vancouver-Little Mountain following re-districting in 2022.

Boyle said during the nomination campaign she heard constituents are concerned with a wide variety of issues.

"They want to see us go faster and further on affordable housing, on climate action, on health care and child care, and public schools. So, those are all big issues for me,” Boyle said. “They're issues I've been working on at the city level and that I look forward to being a voice for this community on."

To this point, none of the other major parties have announced candidates for the riding.

Boyle will continue to sit on city council until the writ is dropped in the fall and then take an unpaid leave of absence to campaign.

If she wins, a by-election must be called within one year of her vacating her council seat.

Since the 2022 civic election, Boyle has been one of just three opposition voices on a city council dominated by Sim and his seven ABC councillors.

"They are obviously well-resourced to promote a candidate, but it will be a test to see what the public think of ABC's track record so far,” said Green Party councillor Pete Fry.

In the meantime, Little Mountain residents can expect to see a lot more of Boyle.

"I will be out hitting the doors and talking to residents in the community pretty quick,” Boyle said. “I really enjoy that work so I'm looking forward to it."

The next provincial election has a fixed date of Oct. 19.