'Shameful': ABC Vancouver unexpectedly nixes final meeting before months-long pre-election 'quiet period'

Vancouver city councillor Brian Montague at Vancouver city hall Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2025. Photo by Jason Payne /PNG

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In Vancouver’s first city council meeting after a five-week World Cup hiatus, the reigning ABC Vancouver party unexpectedly cancelled the last meeting scheduled before a 12-week break that starts in August and continues through the Oct. 17 municipal election.

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In a surprise move Tuesday morning, ABC Vancouver Coun. Brian Montague proposed replacing the council meeting scheduled for July 29 with a reserve day to complete any unfinished business from the packed agendas between now and then.

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The change prompted outrage from the four councillors from other parties, who called it an “egregious,” politically motivated manoeuvre to deprive them of their only remaining chance to introduce new motions before the October election.

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This is because Vancouver is planning a so-called “quiet” pre-election period, with no regular council meetings in September and early October, even while other nearby cities like Surrey and Richmond carry on business as usual in the weeks before election day.

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Montague and other ABC members said the change was required to handle a very busy July agenda, which includes 93 staff reports, 15 council member motions, several rezonings, and major decisions, including the villages plan and the four-year capital plan.

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After Tuesday’s meeting, Montague said in an email: “Every councillor has the right to bring forward motions, but when council is facing one of the busiest agendas in recent memory, I believe it’s important to prioritize time-sensitive city business that is already underway and directly impacts residents, applicants and city operations.”

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But other councillors countered there’s no reason council couldn’t just reconvene in early August to complete unfinished business, if need be.

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It’s also not clear why, if the city has so much business to complete, council cannot just meet in September. Vancouver has no regular council meetings scheduled between the now-cancelled July 29 meeting and Oct. 27, which is 10 days after the election.

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Municipal councils typically take a break over August. But other B.C. cities do not suspend council meetings for several weeks leading up to elections. Vancouver did not always follow this practice, either. Vancouver’s previous council, under then-mayor Kennedy Stewart, also observed a quiet period with no council meetings in the fall before the 2022 election, which was won by ABC and Mayor Ken Sim. But archived council minutes show previous Vancouver councils often had busy meeting agendas in the autumn weeks leading up to civic elections in 2018 and stretching back to the last century.

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Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim with Councillor Lenny Zhou on March 4, 2026. Photo by NICK PROCAYLO /PNG

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This “quiet period” before an election is not required by any statute, the city confirmed in an emailed statement, but it is “an operational convention” for the city and park board. The quiet period includes scaling back “public service communications, engagement activities, and related public-facing activities,” as well as limiting council meetings, for two months before election day, the city said.