COPE council candidate Sean Orr opens up about advocacy, pragmatism, and the intimidation of city hall

Good morning, 

Nate with you today. The cold of winter poses its challenges – higher heating bills, frozen pipes, reduced mobility, and the necessary evil of street salts, to name a few – but it’s an entirely different ordeal for people experiencing homelessness and housing precarity.

I’ve been spending some time on the Downtown Eastside recently for a series of upcoming stories, mostly before the snow set in, and it was striking to see the level of community connection, mutual support, and friendliness in that neighbourhood. 

A couple of visits as an outsider barely scrapes the surface in terms of understanding the complex, multifaceted, and entrenched social and economic hardships in the DTES. But it’s clear those same factors have built a strong, tight-knit community where people know and care for each other.  

Megaphone Magazine, and their yearly Voices of the Street Anthology, is one place to support and learn more from people with lived experiences of marginalization in the Downtown Eastside and across Vancouver.    

As the inconveniences of winter are upon us, I’m grateful for my baseline warmth and housing stability, and I’m reminded that everyone deserves those basics.

With that, let’s get to today’s newsletter. 

— Nate Lewis, Vancity Lookout    

PS - If you find this newsletter valuable, please consider forwarding it to your friends. New to the Lookout? Sign-up for free.

WEATHER

Wednesday: 3 🌡️ -3 | ☀️

Thursday: 4 🌡️ -2 | 🌤️

Friday: 5 🌡️ 0 | 🌤️

NUMBERS OF THE DAY

📉 72%: The percentage of snowpack in B.C. – compared to an average year – as of February 1, following an “extremely dry” January. [City News]

💵 $6.1 million: The amount the City of Vancouver spent on direct business with American vendors in 2024. On Tuesday, city council unanimously passed a motion from Green Coun. Pete Fry, directing staff to urgently review current city spending and policies to align with a “Buy Local / Buy Canadian” approach in response to U.S. tariffs. [CTV, COV]

BY-ELECTION

COPE council candidate Sean Orr opens up about advocacy, pragmatism, and the intimidation of city hall

What happened: The Coalition of Progressive Electors (COPE) announced Sean Orr as their candidate for the upcoming city council by-election. 

The candidate: Orr, whose parents immigrated from Northern Ireland, comes from what he describes as a very political family. As a kid, Orr was brought along to peace marches in the mid 1980s and demonstrations against the evictions in the Downtown Eastside ahead of Expo 86. 

“For a kid to be seeing that, it's like, wow, fighting for community is important,” Orr recalled. 

• As an adult, Orr, 46, has been writing about Vancouver arts, culture, and politics for the past 20 years and moonlights as the frontman and singer for the punk band Needs. 

Party switch: Orr made his first foray into electoral politics in 2022 as a city council candidate for VOTE Socialist, a nascent party with aspirational policies. In January 2025, they officially deregistered as an electoral party, and have now thrown their support behind Orr’s candidacy with COPE.   

“I think people were pretty unsure. We were a brand new party, and didn't know a lot about us, and didn't know a lot about me,” in 2022, Orr said, but feels he’s now got a lot of momentum going into the by-election campaign. 

• Orr feels like COPE definitely has the volunteer and organizational resources that are necessary to run a campaign. “I didn't quite do enough [meeting people in 2022], because we were so limited… we’re gonna have to get out to knock on a lot more doors,” Orr said. 

Orr said he’s excited to get out to neighbourhoods like Marpole, South Van, Kerrisdale, and Point Grey, where, as a Gastown resident, he doesn’t usually visit.

Established in 1968, COPE “unites individuals and groups seeking a progressive orientation in Vancouver’s civic life,” including a focus on “working class politics,” and advancing economic justice through the funding of social and civic services, regulated affordable housing, and an end to homelessness.     

After electing five city councillors in 1990, COPE was able to form a majority government at city hall in 2002. However, they’ve been on the outside looking in at the city council level since the early 2000s, with Jean Swanson being their only candidate elected since 2008. 

“I'm honored to be a part of such a party with a long and storied history fighting for people,” Orr said, adding that Swanson has been a helpful and supportive mentor so far in the campaign.

• Dive deeper: Christopher Cheung with the Tyee has more details on the “imperfect” three party deal to avoid progressive vote splitting in the upcoming by-election.  

Council dynamics: Given Orr would, if elected, be in a minority position on city council, he stressed he wants to be a voice for marginalized people and social movements. That includes championing renters, disabled, Indigenous, and trans people, drug users, artists, and seniors, and fighting for neighbourhoods, climate, and housing.   

• “If you have a councillor that comes out and supports and amplifies [those groups and issues], that's huge. That's not going to be the only role, but that's certainly going to be part of it,” Orr told Vancity Lookout. 

In terms of specific actions, Orr said he’d like to renew the leases on temporary modular housing facilities that have closed or are scheduled to close in the next few years (at least one of those sites, Naomi Place near Nanaimo Station, has remained open past its expected 2024 closure), and continue to build supportive housing if council decides to pause that later this month. 

Orr said he’d also like to institute a pre-emptive right or right of first refusal bylaw where the city would have first dibs to buy real estate or property that’s put up for sale. The idea of a pre-emptive right bylaw was looked into by city staff over the past few years, but they found it “is not likely to increase the equitable distribution or quantity of non-market housing,” due to funding constraints, but could be reconsidered if there’s a change in the city’s economic conditions, according to a March 2024 memo. 

• According to staff, similar bylaws in Montréal and San Francisco have been effective in preserving existing affordable housing.

Orr added he’d love to establish a mansion tax (new taxes are generally under the purview of the province) but said he’d have to be realistic about what he would be able to do on council.

“I've got a lot to learn, and I'm not naive to expect that I can go in and make revolutionary, radical kinds of changes. But like I said, it's more about amplifying social movements and bringing people's concerns to the table, especially in that first little while,” Orr said.

“I'm not ruling out working with [the ABC] party. I think there's some very sensible people on that council. And I'm not naive enough to think that I'm gonna go in there and just make their life a living hell,” Orr said. 

• “I think their policies are a little out of whack with everyday people, but I think there's definitely room to work there,” Orr added.

An intimidating institution: Orr pointed to the typically low voter turnout in civic elections (approximate voter turnout in Vancouver has been between 30% and 42% over the past five general elections) as an indication that many people don’t feel a connection to their government or are intimidated by it.

“I think it's intimidating for a lot of folks, people that don't go out to council meetings. It's a deeply colonial institution as well,” Orr said.

That feeling of intimidation – by the institution itself and by the act of running government – is something Orr said he feels personally, even as he’s seeking to join those very ranks at city hall. 

• “It’s certainly a bit of a paradox,” Orr admitted, adding that his desire to try and join civic government is to be a voice of the people.  

Continuing coverage: This profile is part of Vancity Lookout’s continuing coverage of the 2025 city council by-election on April 5th. 

We’re endeavouring to profile all of the nominated candidates, and, in future coverage, plan to highlight their positions on the biggest issues facing Vancouverites, to help voters make informed decisions at the polls.     

• In case you missed them, or just want to circle back for another look, here are our previous profiles on the OneCity and TEAM candidates.

THE AGENDA

🧊 The city has provided a list of nighttime emergency shelters and warming centres for those who need them over the next few days. Unfortunately, these spaces are closed during the day, and the city recommends going to a library or community centre to get out of the cold. [COV]

🪵 The Stanley Park Preservation Society – a group opposing the park board and city’s ongoing work to remove dead and dying trees resulting from a multi-year insect infestation in Stanley Park – has filed a petition with the B.C. Supreme Court, alleging elected officials overstepped their powers and asking a judge to cancel the city’s recently extended contract with their forestry contractor. Five months ago, a judge ruled against a negligence lawsuit brought by the society. [Vancity Lookout, TheBreaker] 

🤓 He’s a music media legend, a man of pop culture renown, who’s reached the peaks of cult social media fame. But who is West Vancouver’s Nardwaur the Human Serviette? How does he land his A-list guests and come up with his shocking, insightful interview questions? What are his favourite Vancouver music venues and where did doot doola doot doo come from anyway? All that and more in this terrific feature by Rebecca Bolwitt. [Megaphone] 

🏘️ Enjoy this love letter to the Drive from the perspective of a local urban planner. [The Tyee]

🏗️ In this opinion piece, two Vancouver-area development brokers express their displeasure about the “unfair advantage” of the city competing with them to build market-rate housing. And don’t get them started on the city’s “onerous requirement to include below market housing” in privately-owned buildings. Geoff broke down the city’s plan, including comparisons to other jurisdictions, earlier this week. [Urbanized, Vancity Lookout]

😬 Canada isn’t a major fentanyl exporter, as U.S. President Donald Trump claims. But we are becoming a hub for production of the powerful opioid, raising risks that our local and national drug crisis could expand beyond Canadian borders. [Investigative Journalism Foundation]

DREAM HOME

The Eight Oaks Housing Co-operative on Cambie and 20th is accepting applications for their apartments, including suites, and one and two-bedroom units. They have a stunning forested yard space separating the building from Cambie Street, plus quick access to nearby shops, schools, and transit. 

The co-op is an active and vibrant community, requiring active participation and involvement from its members. If this sounds like the type of housing you’re looking for, you can get more information and apply here…

House of The Week is a home selected by the Lookout team and is not a paid advertisement. All ads are labeled as such. If you’re a realtor who wishes to feature your home in our newsletter, please contact our sales team. 

CITY HALL

Waiting game at Holborn’s Dunsmuir House site

What happened: A city-ordered demolition of Dunsmuir House, a 115-year-old heritage-listed hotel at the corner of Dunsmuir and Richards, was completed last month after it was declared a threat to public safety by city officials in December 2024. 

• Holborn Group, the developer that owns the Dunsmuir property, is being accused by the city of “neglecting the building to the point where demolition became the only viable option to ensure public safety,” which meant heritage features of the building could not be safely retained.  

ABC Coun. Peter Meiszner told Vancity Lookout the urgent demolition was not the outcome anyone wanted to see. Losing the heritage components of the buildings “makes it twice as bad, in my opinion,” Meiszner said.

Compensation: Vancouver does have a bylaw on the books intended to protect single-room accommodations (SRAs) like Dunsmuir House. The bylaw allows city council to “impose a $300,000 per unit charge as a condition of a conversion or demolition permit,” according to the city. With 167 rooms, Holborn Group could be on the hook for as much as $50 million, according to the Tyee. 

However: That money is not a fine, and would “be paid into a reserve fund for the provision of accommodation to replace the [SRA] that is to be converted or demolished under the permit,” the city said. 

• And because the building was demolished by city order, rather than as an application by the property owner for a demolition permit or redevelopment proposal, the SRA bylaw charges have not been triggered. 

“When the owner, Holborn, does submit a redevelopment proposal for the property, that's when [the SRA charge] would be considered. But there's no active application that's been submitted to the city at this time,” Meiszner said. 

Council has asked staff to report back on “any legal avenues the City of Vancouver may have to seek recourse for the apparent neglect of the subject building and loss of heritage by the property owner,” and that work is ongoing, according to the city. 

What it means: Outside of that staff report, the ball seems to be in Holborn’s court when it comes to what’s next for the corner lot in central downtown. 

Holborn Group’s history of developing on sites with government strings attached — like at Little Mountain where construction is only happening in earnest now after the company bought the site from the province in 2008 — doesn’t augur well for a speedy resolution on Dunsmuir. 

• In the meantime, Meiszner said he’s kicking around the idea of having the vacant lot become an area for food trucks, on a temporary basis.

ARTS GUIDE

Performance

The City of Others, a powerful dance and live music performance, explores how cities can be transformed from places of prejudice and loneliness to ones of collective belonging. Afro-Columbian dance company Sankofa Danzafro will be in Vancouver for three shows over two days, Feb. 21st and 22nd. Tickets $35+

The Arts Club is staging the Canadian premiere of the 2024 Pulitzer Prize-winning drama Primary Trust, a play about avoidance and growth. On now until March 2nd. Tickets $29+

Just For Laughs Vancouver continues with various shows across the city. Tickets and more info 

Movies 

This week at VIFF, you can catch a number of Valentine’s Day flicks. Films include a screening of the evergreen love story Brief Encounter, 2024’s Paying For It – a witty adaptation of the director’s ex’s graphic novel about their break-up, and why artists maybe shouldn’t date each other (hehe jk), the 1965 film Doctor Zhivago set amidst the tumult of the Russian Revolution, or a specially curated package of vintage romantic cartoons. Tickets $16, showtimes various (Feb 14-20)

The Rio is showing a couple of classics this week with Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind tonight, plus a Friday matinee of The Princess Bride. Tickets $10-15

Art

Slow Looking is a new exhibit that invites contemplation, providing encounters of beguiling opacity and abstraction, directing us to a more complex, mediated encounter with the pieces on display. Opening Feb. 15 at Catriona Jeffries. More info

The Bill Reid Gallery has launched their year-long exhibit on the work of Haida artist Kihl ‘Yahda, Christian White and his many collaborators. Check out our feature on the exhibit or, better yet, go see it for yourself. Tickets $13

IMAGE OF THE DAY

A couple of sleek coyotes in Chinatown. It’s mating season, meaning coyotes are more active and potentially aggressive towards people and other animals. Be sure to steer clear and keep an eye on your pets.

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

• Tuesday morning’s minimum temperature broke the Feb. 11 record by a longshot [Reddit]

• This Valentine’s-themed photo op is… uncomfortable to say the least. [VIA]

• A helpful thread of Dine Out reviews, with lots of positive recommendations and the annual debate on the program’s value for money. [Reddit]

• This POWERful group interrogating ideas about public safety are the Georgia Straight’s Breakout activists of 2025 [GS]

• Want to have your announcement featured? Learn how here.

GAME TIME

This neighbourhood park is tucked away right near the centre of the city. It’ll take a real savvy local to make out today’s Vancouver Guesser…