Arbutus Ridge

Arbutus Ridge is a quiet, affluent west-side neighbourhood of roughly 16,000 people, bounded by West 16th Avenue to the north, West 41st Avenue to the south, Mackenzie Street to the west, and East Boulevard to the east. Nearly half of residents — about 48 percent — are Chinese-Canadian, making it one of the most heavily Chinese-Canadian neighbourhoods on the west side. English is the dominant home language at roughly 46 percent, with Chinese languages (Cantonese and Mandarin combined) at about 37 percent. The median age is roughly 17 percent above the Vancouver average, and the neighbourhood has one of the city's highest concentrations of residents over 85. About 65 percent of households are owner-occupied, and the housing stock is predominantly single-family detached homes on large lots, with pockets of low-rise apartments and condominiums. The median household income of roughly $97,000 is well above the city-wide median.

Arbutus Ridge sits within Vancouver-Point Grey provincially, held by NDP MLA David Eby since 2013 — though Eby's personal brand likely outperforms his party in the neighbourhood — and within Vancouver Quadra federally, a Liberal stronghold since 1984. Municipally, the neighbourhood voted decisively for Ken Sim, who took 62.8 percent of 1,941 valid ballots to Stewart's 18.2 percent and Hardwick's 14.2 percent. With only two polling stations — Prince of Wales Secondary School and Carnarvon Elementary — Arbutus Ridge produced a modest ballot count for a neighbourhood of its size, consistent with the city-wide turnout of 36 percent.

Municipal Issues

The Broadway Plan was the defining local issue for Arbutus Ridge, which sits directly adjacent to the plan area along its northern boundary at 16th Avenue. The Millennium Line Broadway Extension, under construction during the campaign, terminates at Arbutus station at Broadway and Arbutus Street — just north of the neighbourhood's boundary at 16th Avenue, placing Arbutus Ridge directly adjacent to the plan's densification zone. The plan permits towers of up to 40 storeys within 150 metres of stations and 20 to 30 storeys in surrounding zones, a massive increase from previous zoning. TEAM's Colleen Hardwick, who pledged to repeal both the Broadway Plan and the Vancouver Plan, drew 14.2 percent in Arbutus Ridge — above her city-wide average of 10 percent — reflecting a segment of homeowners who prioritized neighbourhood preservation above all else. The broader Vancouver Plan, which proposed densification across the city's remaining single-family zones, generated additional anxiety about the future of the neighbourhood's low-rise residential character.

Public safety, the dominant city-wide issue, resonated in Arbutus Ridge through the lens of property crime and a perceived deterioration of public order beyond the Downtown Eastside. The documentary Vancouver Is Dying, released ten days before the election, amplified these concerns. ABC's pledge of 100 additional police officers and 100 mental health nurses aligned with voter priorities in a neighbourhood where the older demographic and high homeownership rate made quality-of-life issues particularly salient. Sim's identity as a Chinese-Canadian candidate also carried weight in a neighbourhood where nearly half the population is of Chinese descent, and ABC's Chinese-language campaign outreach was extensive.

The Arbutus Greenway, the nine-kilometre former CPR rail corridor running along the neighbourhood's eastern edge, remained a local frustration. After the city purchased the corridor in 2016, an ambitious plan for pedestrian paths, cycling lanes, and public amenities was promised. By 2022, only temporary asphalt and bark mulch paths had been completed, and the project's $5 million budget had been reallocated to other priorities — a symbol of perceived city hall dysfunction for west-side residents.