A new poll found that 72% of Vancouver voters believe the mayor and city council are out of touch, while the cost of living is their top concern. Meanwhile, Washington state officials have advanced planning for a high-speed rail link between Portland and Vancouver that could bypass the American namesake city. Business in Vancouver magazine has also announced the winners of its 2026 Forty Under 40 awards, recognizing young leaders from across the region.
Vancouver Poll: 72% of Voters Say Mayor and Council Are Out of Touch
An overwhelming majority of Vancouver residents—72%—believe their mayor and city council do not understand the concerns and needs of ordinary residents. That is the result of an exclusive poll conducted by Canada Pulse Insights for Rogers OMNI TV and reported by CityNews Vancouver. The figure itself looks like a political verdict, but it becomes even more interesting when examining which issues respondents consider most important and how priorities differ among supporters of various candidates. In effect, the poll paints a picture of a city where voters expect local government to solve problems beyond its direct authority while simultaneously judging it emotionally for failing to do so.
Respondents were given a list of 19 issues and asked to select the most important ones. Affordability and the cost of living came first by a wide margin, at 45%. That is unsurprising amid inflation and rising food and utility costs, but another point is more notable: experts say this is the issue least amenable to municipal solutions. Housing affordability and the ability to buy a home followed at 33%. Crime, policing and public safety came next at 29%. Health care and access to medical services received 25%, while drug use, the opioid crisis and supervised consumption sites received 24%. It is telling that health care, formally outside the city’s jurisdiction, still ranks among residents’ top concerns—indirectly reinforcing the poll’s central finding that the authorities are disconnected from people’s needs.
John Wright, CEO of Canada Pulse Insights, says directly that local politicians cannot solve the affordability crisis, but they can ease some of its symptoms. “They can focus on affordable housing, they can freeze taxes, they can make sure that any investments deliver the proper return to voters,” he said. “But it’s almost like someone suffering from a disease that no doctor can cure—our unaffordability, which we encounter every day in the grocery store when you pick something up off the shelf and feel like yelling at someone.” The metaphor helps explain why abstract municipal tools do not reassure voters: the pain is real, while the government’s instruments appear inadequate to address it.
The differences between the priorities of supporters of the two leading figures, Ken Sim and Pete Fry, are especially revealing. Both groups identify affordability as the top issue—50% among Sim supporters and 39% among Fry supporters—but their lists diverge after that. Fry voters place greater importance on climate change and extreme weather, accountability, ethics and transparency at City Hall, parks, recreation and cultural facilities, as well as access to municipal services and their quality. Sim supporters prioritize crime, policing and safety, municipal taxes, spending and the budget, as well as traffic and road infrastructure. In other words, we are looking at two different Vancouvers: one votes for social and environmental values, while the other votes for order, safety and fiscal restraint.
Perceptions of government also contain some nuances. Respondents supporting candidates other than Sim were far more likely to agree that the mayor and council are out of touch with residents’ needs. Among Fry supporters, the figure was 81%, including 52% who strongly agreed. Among supporters of Karen Allem of the Vancouver Liberals, it was 80%, while 83% of supporters of Colleen Hardwick of TEAM for a Livable Vancouver agreed. But even among Sim’s own supporters, 44% acknowledged that the mayor and council may not have their finger on the city’s pulse. This means the problem extends beyond the usual opposition-versus-government conflict: doubts about City Hall’s responsiveness have also penetrated the mayor’s own electorate.
Several terms in the article may require explanation. Supervised consumption sites are locations where people can use drugs under medical supervision to reduce the risk of overdose; in Vancouver, this is particularly sensitive because of the scale of the opioid crisis. Municipal elections in British Columbia are held every four years, electing the mayor, councillors and school trustees; this is why the poll focuses on the mayor and council. Canada Pulse Insights is a research company that regularly conducts political polling for media outlets, while Rogers OMNI TV commissioned this poll exclusively.
The main takeaway is simple: Vancouver residents want the government to address the cost of living, housing and safety, while also understanding that the mayor is not all-powerful. The political consequence is nevertheless serious—72% feel that government is out of touch, and nearly half of Sim’s supporters agree. If City Hall cannot offer a convincing agenda on housing affordability, tax freezes or spending transparency, this divide could become decisive in the next election. Wright’s metaphor of an incurable disease that no one can defeat is also a reminder that in politics, it is sometimes more important not to cure the problem but to show voters that you understand their pain and are doing everything possible to ease it.
High-Speed Rail Between Portland and Vancouver: A Dream That Could Bypass Vancouver
The idea of connecting Portland with Vancouver, Canada, by high-speed rail is moving from bold concept to concrete planning. According to Planetizen, Washington state transportation officials have come close to what is being called the project’s “penultimate phase” of development. This means that, after years of discussion about the Pacific Northwest’s need for a modern rail corridor, officials are finally moving toward selecting specific routes—although passengers will not see the first train for quite some time.
The concept is simple and ambitious: connect two major Pacific cities with a high-speed line on which trains would travel between 160 and 250 miles per hour. By comparison, the current Amtrak Cascades service between Vancouver, Canada, and Eugene, Oregon, is generally limited to 79 miles per hour. The difference is enormous: a journey that currently takes hours could eventually become a short trip comparable with flying, but without airports, security checks or jet-fuel emissions.
One intriguing detail has already generated plenty of jokes and questions: preliminary routes will likely bypass Vancouver, Washington. In other words, the line would connect Portland with Vancouver, Canada, while the American city with the same name would remain off the route. The decision is driven by a desire for speed: every extra turn and stop reduces the corridor’s economic appeal, and officials want travel time between the endpoints to be competitive.
The story dates back to 2016, when then-Washington Governor Jay Inslee presented the concept of high-speed service between Portland and Vancouver. Nearly a decade has passed, but the project is only now taking shape. According to The Columbian, officials could release the viable routes in late 2027. By the end of 2028, Washington transportation authorities hope to complete work on the initial routes and examine financing options. This means that even under the most favorable scenario, construction is still years away—and the first passengers may not board for another decade.
The key question, as always, is money. High-speed rail is extraordinarily expensive, and projects in the United States have traditionally stalled because of a lack of federal support and disagreements between states. The Portland–Vancouver project would require coordination not only between Washington and Oregon but also with Canadian authorities and the U.S. federal government. For now, officials are merely studying financing, which in bureaucratic language means that the money does not yet exist, but they are looking for it.
What do these terms mean? The “penultimate phase” of planning is the stage when technical corridors are defined, environmental impacts are assessed and costs are refined. “Viable routes” are options that have passed an initial screening and could be built at reasonable cost with minimal opposition from local communities. At speeds of 160 to 250 miles per hour, a trip from Portland to Vancouver would take roughly two to three hours, compared with seven or eight hours by car or Amtrak today. At distances like this, high-speed rail begins to compete with air travel once the time required to reach the airport and complete pre-flight procedures is taken into account.
If the project moves forward, it could become the first genuine high-speed rail corridor on the U.S. West Coast. Similar lines between San Francisco and Los Angeles have long been discussed, but they still lack even substantial sections nearing completion. For Washington and Oregon, the project would offer a chance not only to relieve highway congestion but also to link the economies of two countries into a single fast-growing region. Before trains race along at 250 miles per hour, however, officials will have to navigate years of approvals, find billions of dollars and overcome the inevitable skepticism of those who view such projects as expensive toys. For now, officials are cautiously referring to “progress,” while observers wonder whether that progress will remain another attractive presentation—as has happened more than once with American rail ambitions.
Business in Vancouver Announces 2026 Forty Under 40 Winners
Business in Vancouver magazine has published the winners of its annual Forty Under 40 awards, which recognize young entrepreneurs and executives on Canada’s West Coast who have achieved outstanding results in their professional work, innovation and contributions to society. This year’s awards come amid difficult economic conditions in British Columbia. Organizers say the winners not only adapted to these challenges but also succeeded where many others might have given up. First established in the 1990s, the awards have since become one of the region’s most prestigious business honors. Hundreds of nominations are submitted each year, with selection taking place through a multi-stage evaluation process.
This year’s 40 honorees represent a wide range of fields, from finance, real estate and biotechnology to restaurants, sports and philanthropy. Winners include Hasem Aboulhosn, chief growth officer at Merchant Growth; Becky Brauer, co-CEO of meal-kit delivery service Fresh Prep; Natasha Jung, founder and executive producer of media platform Cold Tea Collective; Karina Valente, CEO and chief scientific officer of biotechnology company VoxCell BioInnovation; and Christina Wong, founder and CEO of Employ to Empower, an organization that helps people with disabilities find employment. The full list of winners contains 39 names, representing both major corporations such as RBC, Deloitte and MNP LLP and smaller family businesses and startups.
Business in Vancouver editor-in-chief Tyler Orton said this year’s selection was particularly difficult because of the high quality of the nominations. “I don’t think anyone is under any illusion about the challenges facing British Columbia’s economy. This year’s winners confronted those challenges without hesitation and succeeded when many did not expect them to,” he said. “These individuals will lead British Columbia’s business community for many years to come. We are honored to see their creativity and entrepreneurial spirit shaping our future.” His comments were quoted by Business in Vancouver in the official announcement.
The honorees were selected by an independent committee consisting of former award winners from different years—Anna Baird (2022), Alan Cosgrave (2021), Shan Parmar (2024), Jeff Pedlow (2025), Sharon Singh (2019) and Joyce Tang (2025)—along with BIV editor-in-chief Tyler Orton. The jury assessed nominees according to four key criteria: professional achievements, innovation, impact and contributions to the community. This approach makes it possible to select not merely successful managers but leaders whose work extends beyond corporate interests. The award has existed for several decades, and many prominent entrepreneurs and executives from the region have received it.
The awards ceremony will take place on February 19, 2027, at the Vancouver Convention Centre, while profiles of all the winners will be published in the December issue of Forty Under 40. The gala will also include the fourth Forty Under 40 Lifetime Achievement Award, honoring outstanding accomplishments over an entire career. Organizers promise to reveal the recipient’s name in the coming weeks. Previous recipients include Ian Tosteson, Ann Stewart and David Chalk, each of whom left a significant mark on British Columbia’s business community.
For readers unfamiliar with Canadian business terminology, several points are worth explaining. Forty Under 40 is not simply a list of young talent but also a kind of indicator of the region’s economic health: inclusion often opens new opportunities for entrepreneurs seeking partnerships and investment. BIV, or Business in Vancouver, is Western Canada’s leading business publication, covering the region’s economy, law and politics since 1986. The awards are held annually, and recipients automatically come to the attention of major investors and recruiting firms. The Lifetime Achievement Award is a separate honor for people whose careers span decades and whose contributions to the region’s economy have become part of its history.
Among this year’s winners, biotechnology is particularly well represented by Sherry Zhao, founder and CEO of Kalino Bio, and Karina Valente of VoxCell BioInnovation, whose work involves developing new methods of cellular engineering. In finance and consulting, honorees include Brent Wolfe, national director of public companies at MNP LLP, and Jonathan Do, vice-president of commercial financial services at RBC. The restaurant industry is represented by Alex Kim, culinary director at Five Sails and Glowbal Restaurants, while the sports industry is represented by Milad Bahrami, founder and CEO of Endurance Taekwondo Inc. The list also includes Yusra Qadir, director of programs and advocacy at Mothers Matter Canada, and Manjit Winning, regional adviser at the Office of the Prime Minister of Canada for British Columbia, highlighting the diversity not only of the honorees’ industries but also of their spheres of influence.
The Forty Under 40 awards remain an important form of recognition for young leaders in Western Canada. As the 2026 list shows, even amid economic uncertainty, the region continues to produce talent capable of competing nationally and internationally. All that remains is to wait for the December issue of the magazine and the February ceremony to learn who will receive the top lifetime achievement honor—and perhaps to see the new honorees enter BIV history just as their predecessors once did.
