1 of 1 2 of 1

The Vancouver and District Labour Council has been trying to broker a deal between various municipal parties to keep the NPA out of power in the October municipal election.

This has generated speculation about whether Vision Vancouver, the Greens, and OneCity Vancouver might back a single mayoral candidate and limit the number of people who run for council from each party.

The more left-wing Coalition of Progressive Electors, on the other hand, is far less likely than the Greens and OneCity to cooperate with Vision Vancouver, which COPE sees as a developers' party.

And today, in advance of the next round of meetings with the labour council on May 6, the COPE executive has unveiled a proposal for the left to win control over Vancouver council without any help from Mayor Gregor Robertson's party, which has controlled council since the 2008 election.

It calls for two COPE council candidates, two Green council candidates, two OneCity council candidates, and independent Jean Swanson also running for council.

Each organization would be free to criticize the policies of candidates for the other parties.

There would be no alliance with Vision Vancouver.

“It’s important for all parties, including COPE, to be reasonable and unselfish as the city faces this unprecedented crisis in housing affordability, homelessness and tragic numbers dying of drug overdoses,” said COPE cochair Connie Hubbs said in a news release.

The COPE executive has recommended that members contact each party if they support this plan.

"We believe that the best result for the October 20th Vancouver election will be a majority of progressive councillors from parties that are independent of the real estate industry,” Hubbs said. “To solve the housing crisis, councillors should be accountable to voters, not corporate campaign contributors.”