City council votes ‘yes’ on pricey funding for permanent ‘Vancouver’ sign
Posted May 21, 2025 7:10 am.
Last Updated May 21, 2025 7:16 pm.
Councillors discussed and approved an expensive piece of infrastructure for the City of Vancouver on Wednesday.
It’s a permanent ‘Vancouver’ sign that will be placed between the Convention Centre and Canada Place in the city’s downtown core.
However, what stands out about the idea is the price tag
“The estimate is from $550,000 to $1 million — that doesn’t mean it’s going to be $1 million,” Vancouver Coun. Peter Meiszner, who was behind the original motion last year, told 1130 NewsRadio on Tuesday.
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO 1130 NEWSRADIO VANCOUVER LIVE!Ultimately, city council unanimously approved the installation Wednesday afternoon, with $300,000 in the capital project budget, “to be funded by an additional contribution to capital from the 2025 operating budget.”
According to the city, the annual maintenance budget is up to $50,000.
“The good thing is we were able to find $400,000 of partner funding to fund the sign. I’m expecting that to make up about 50 per cent of the funding for this new iconic Vancouver sign,” Meiszner added Tuesday.
Those partners include the Vancouver Convention Centre, Destination Vancouver, the Vancouver Hotel Development Association (VHDA), and the Downtown Vancouver Business Improvement Association (DVBIA).
(Courtesy City of Vancouver report)
Some may be wondering how the city can justify spending that amount of money on a sign when the local economy is facing some big challenges.
“I think the economy is already in a challenging spot because of tariffs and many other factors, but this is a really important tourism and place-making initiative. The city has a very large budget, it’s over $2 billion, and we invest in tourism because tourism is a huge economic driver for Vancouver. Tourism is, like, an $18 billion industry for British Columbia, for Vancouver it’s several billion dollars a year,” Meiszner explained.
The goal is to install it early next year before Vancouver plays host to a handful of FIFA World Cup matches.
“We’re going to have hundreds of thousands of people in Vancouver for the first time. So, I really think the timing is right to do something like this. And we can balance multiple priorities at the city, in terms of the priorities that we fund, so I think it’s a worthwhile investment for Vancouver and for people who come to Vancouver,” the councillor added.
There was a temporary ‘Vancouver’ sign placed downtown last year, and it was a popular destination, Meiszner says.
“That was funded by the Convention Centre and the Hotel Development Association, and those were just rented letters; they weren’t specific to the city at all. If you went down there, there were tons of people taking photos and videos,” he said.
“This is going to be a sign that’s specific to Vancouver, that’s designed by Vancouverites, that has the participation of Indigenous groups in Vancouver. So, it’s really going to truly reflect our city. It may not be everybody’s cup of tea, but we need to continue to invest in place-making in Vancouver and tourist attractions, and I think this is just a really great way to spread the word about our beautiful city.”
Prior to the vote, Meiszner said council will reveal more details in the fall, including a rendering of what the sign will look like. He’s not publicly saying who will be tapped to design the sign.
There are other similar signs in other Canadian cities, including a famous one in Toronto, which was installed a few years ago with a price tag of roughly $760,000.
With files from Charles Brockman.
