Vancouver East

Vancouver East covers the eastern portion of the City of Vancouver, stretching from the Downtown Eastside and Strathcona neighbourhood northward along Burrard Inlet and eastward through Grandview–Woodland and Hastings–Sunrise to the Burnaby border. The riding also includes portions of Mount Pleasant to the south. It is one of the most socioeconomically diverse federal ridings in British Columbia, encompassing some of the wealthiest and poorest neighbourhoods in Canada.

Candidates

Jenny Kwan (NDP) — A former member of the BC legislature who represented Vancouver–Mount Pleasant from 1996 to 2015, Kwan was seeking to succeed retiring NDP MP Libby Davies, who had held the seat since 1997. Born in Hong Kong, she immigrated to Canada at age nine and graduated from Simon Fraser University with a criminology degree. She served as a BC cabinet minister in several portfolios, including Municipal Affairs and Women’s Equality, and was previously the youngest city councillor in Vancouver’s history when elected in 1993.

Edward Wong (Liberal) — A trial lawyer with 24 years of experience, Wong served as a former director of Junior Achievement of British Columbia.

James Low (Conservative) ran as the party’s candidate in the riding.

Wes Regan (Green Party) — An urban geographer and community economic development professional, Regan was the founding executive director of the Hastings Crossing Business Improvement Association. He was appointed as the Green Party’s Urban Affairs and Housing Critic by leader Elizabeth May in 2015.

Peter Marcus ran for the Communist Party, D. Alex Millar as an Independent, Anne Jamieson for the Marxist-Leninist Party, and Shawn Vulliez for the Pirate Party.

About the Riding

Vancouver East has been held by the NDP since 1997 and is among the party’s safest seats in Western Canada. The Downtown Eastside, one of the riding’s defining neighbourhoods, has long been the focus of national attention for its concentrated poverty, homelessness, and the ongoing opioid and addiction crisis. Strathcona, Vancouver’s oldest residential neighbourhood, is adjacent to the city’s Chinatown—one of the largest in North America. The Commercial Drive corridor in Grandview–Woodland is known for its independent shops, cafés, and cultural diversity. Hastings–Sunrise, largely residential, is home to Hastings Park and the Pacific National Exhibition grounds. The riding’s economy includes the Port of Vancouver facilities along Burrard Inlet, light manufacturing, the creative and technology sectors around Mount Pleasant, and a thriving small-business and artisan community. In 2015, key local issues included housing affordability and the rapid gentrification of formerly working-class neighbourhoods, mental health and addiction services funding, and the protection of social housing stock.