Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim says he wants proof after claims of municipal election interference
Posted March 16, 2023 6:59 pm.
Last Updated March 17, 2023 7:32 am.
“I’ll just say it: If I was a Caucasian male, we’re not having this conversation,” Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim said Thursday.
Sim denounced what he calls “insinuations,” after a recent news article cited Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) with claims that China’s Vancouver consulate interfered with last year’s municipal election.
“I’ll tell you one thing, if there is proof of this — I’d be as mad as everyone else,” Sim said.
“I’m a Canadian. I was born here, I was raised here, I went to school here, I started two businesses here, I raised my family here, I chose to be here — I love Canada.”
Sim was responding to questions in response to a Globe and Mail article claiming to be based on information from a January 2022 CSIS report detailing how China’s then-consul general discussed nominating a specific Chinese Canadian candidate.
The CSIS report does not specifically name the candidate, but the piece does focus on Sim – who was elected mayor this past October – as well as Lenny Zhou, who was elected to council as a member of Sim’s ABC Vancouver Party.
Related Article: Vancouver councillor supports foreign interference probe at municipal level
Sim says the report is hurtful, adding, that making insinuations like these without hard evidence in any other industry would be problematic.
“Where it’s really disappointing [is] when you look at three-quarters of the city, that is some kind of visible minority…and this is the signal we send to the community, that says, ‘if you finally get a seat at the table, there are institutions that are going to knock you down.’ I think it’s disgusting,” Sim said.
“There are two people mentioned in that article, two Chinese people.”
While addressing media during a press conference, Sim explained how the allegations are offensive to more people than just him.
“To say that any one person or group swung an election, I think it’s kinda crazy, I think it’s disrespectful to all the people who ran as part of ABC.”
Sim is Vancouver’s first mayor of Chinese descent.
