Vancouver Faces Rising Costs and Congestion as Mayor Race Continues

Vancouver's next mayor will inherit mounting challenges involving housing affordability, population decline, municipal spending and traffic congestion, according to a report examining the city's livability and economic pressures. Pete Fry of the Vancouver Greens is among five leading mayoral contenders scheduled to discuss their plans in the Conversations That Matter interview series. The Economist Intelligence Unit's global livability index ranks Vancouver ninth in North America, a substantial decline from the top position the city held from 2004 through 2010.

The ranking highlights a change in the city's standing as affordability and other urban challenges continue to affect residents. Vancouver is also widely recognized as Canada's least affordable major city, according to the source report. The city's economic growth model relied on continued population growth, but changing immigration policy and outward migration have altered that pattern.

Immigration policy has reduced the number of immigrants, while more people leaving than arriving has contributed to a population decline of more than 8,000, the report states. These demographic changes pose a challenge to the growth assumptions that previously shaped the city's development.

Municipal staffing and operating costs have also increased substantially. According to the report, the workforce employed by the city grew by roughly 25 percent over the past 10 years, while the annual operating budget expanded from $1.2 billion to nearly $2.4 billion. The report links the growth in municipal employment and spending to a period in which the operating budget increased much faster than the population. It identifies the expanding city payroll and higher operating costs as issues the next mayor will need to address.

Traffic congestion presents another major challenge for Vancouver residents. The TomTom Traffic Index ranks Vancouver as Canada's most congested city and the fourth most congested in North America. The congestion ranking adds transportation to the central issues facing candidates in the mayoral contest, alongside affordability, population trends and municipal finances. The source report identifies these pressures as priorities for the next city administration.

Conversations That Matter is interviewing five candidates who lead public opinion polling conducted by Research Co. The series examines how each contender plans to address Vancouver's challenges and what the city could look like after the candidate's term in office. The featured candidate in the latest installment is Pete Fry of the Vancouver Greens. His interview forms part of the series' examination of the policies and priorities proposed by leading contenders for Vancouver's mayoralty.