Promising a cooperative council and a willingness to sit at the table to find solutions, Pete Fry was officially sworn in as the 42nd Mayor of Vancouver on Monday afternoon.
“When we choose collaboration over division, hope over cynicism, community over self-interest, it’s magic,” said Fry in a 10-minute, mostly conversational speech that was light on policy promises but heavy on the idea of chairing a less partisan council over the next four years.
“I may be mayor, but I’m also a neighbour. And being a good neighbour means listening carefully. It means showing up. It means working through difficult conversations.”
After the inauguration ceremony, Fry held a press conference with all ten councillors, with representatives from each party — COPE, OneCity, ABC Vancouver, and Fry’s own Green Party, none of which has a majority on council — speaking of their desire to work together.
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“Truthfully, this is I think a fantastic opportunity,” said Coun. Mike Klassen, the sole ABC Vancouver candidate who was returned to office in October’s local elections.
“I know that everybody here probably has butterflies on the first day. But at the end of the day, I think this team will move forward strongly together.”
City of Vancouver Mayor Pete Fry, centre, smiles as he and councillors Mike Klassen, left, and Sean Orr are acknowledged by the audience during the inauguration ceremony in Vancouver, on Monday, Nov. 2, 2026. (Rich Lam/The Canadian Press)
The inauguration ceremony is traditionally more focused on symbolism than governing, and it was the case again Monday at the Orpheum Theatre — a cool, grey November day, with a ceremony that began with bagpipers and addresses from the Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations, and ended with a performance from the Vancouver Police Department’s Lion Dance Team.
But Fry also said his first priority on his agenda would be around another point of symbolism in the city — the state of the Downtown Eastside.
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“We have people who are unhoused and unwell on our streets, and I think we can do better as a city,” he said, explaining that he wanted to immediately focus on increasing the amount of emergency daytime shelter available to residents this winter.
“But again, I think part of that involves some partnerships that have not been fully explored with the senior governments. And I think that’s where there’s a real opportunity to lean in on that,” he said.
In addition, council is expected to ask city staff to bring forward a 2027 budget different from the zero per cent property tax freeze they were given previous direction to work toward under Ken Sim.
With those immediate considerations, Fry has asked councillors to be prudent in the quantity of motions they bring forward in their first few meetings.
“We do have a pretty serious budget coming in, and the opportunity to get a lot of things done is going to be predicated by how the budget goes,” he said. “We need to be methodical and thoughtful about how we approach it.”
City of Vancouver Mayor Pete Fry, centre, is hit with lettuce thrown at him by a Chinese lion as symbol of prosperity during a performance as councillor Mike Klassen, left, and Sean Orr, right, look on during the inauguration ceremony in Vancouver. (Rich Lam/The Canadian Press)
The attitude continues in line with Fry’s announcements last week, which included naming COPE Coun. Sean Orr as deputy mayor for the first few months of the term, appointing Klassen to the Metro Vancouver board and asking former mayoral candidate rival Rebecca Bligh to lead his transition team.
“It’s really important we have stability around our municipal government … I’m of the strong belief that how you start the first six months is how the rest of the term is going to go,” said Bligh.
“I’ll be here to support Pete for as long as that work is there, and I think there’s a lot of work to do.”
Nic Popell, who was executive director of the Green Party’s winning campaign, said Fry’s disposition stems from his experience on both the ABC Vancouver-majority council of the last four years as well as the minority council under Kennedy Stewart, which was marked by attempts at collaboration but also inefficiency and a lack of support for the mayor by the end of his tenure.
“He’s seen so many cycles of this, so he’s seen how it can work and more importantly, when it doesn’t,” said Popell.
For the next four years, Popell hopes for more of the former than the latter.
“We’ve got more in common than we don’t. We have differences, but let’s deal with them respectfully. Voters are wanting us to work together, and that’s why they elected this mixed council.”
