Tenure
Sim's ABC Vancouver faced defeat in the 2025 Vancouver City Council by-election, with his party's candidates placing sixth and seventh, respectively. In addition, his former chief of staff and 2022 campaign manager, Kareem Allam, formed the Vancouver Liberals after a dispute with the mayor. 2022 ABC Vancouver elected officials Victoria Jung, Christopher JK Richardson, Rebecca Bligh, Brennan Bastyovanszky, Laura Christensen, and Scott Jensen have all either been ejected or have resigned from the party.
In March 2023, during Sim's mayoral term, a homeless count was commenced by the Homelessness Services Association of BC, the first since the beginning of the pandemic. The results of the count were released in October 2023, showing a 32% increase in homelessness since 2020.
Sim's plan to address the homeless crisis in Vancouver has centred on partnership with Provincial and Federal government programs. Within his first 45 days in office Ken Sim and the ABC-dominated Council expedited work camp-style housing in partnership with BC Housing that implemented 90 units on City property. On March 27, 2023, Sim and Provincial Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon announced a plan to open 330 additional units by June, 2023.
In addition, ABC Vancouver have repeatedly stated their intent to decrease permit processing times as additional means to stimulate the development of new, permanent housing.
In early April 2023, news outlets began reporting on the City of Vancouver's efforts to bring the East Hastings encampment to a close. Sim remarked that the conclusion of the encampment is part of a larger effort of "finding empathetic ways to get people off the streets and into housing that they need."
On April 5, 2023, Sim announced the encampment would be brought to a close. By the end of the April 5, city workers removed most of the encampment on Hastings, disposed of much of the debris left by the encampment, and offered residents temporary re-homing to shelters while the city awaits new more permanent housing to arrive in June. As part of the operation April 5 and 6, crews took down 94 “entrenched structures” and removed 50 propane tanks from the encampment zone. More than 70 totes for storage were also provided to individuals and stored off-site.
On December 6, 2023, three ABC Vancouver Vancouver Park Board commissioners left the party to sit as independents after Sim introduced a motion to ask the provincial government to change the Vancouver Charter to dissolve the park board. While remaining independent, they have indicated they will form a majority bloc with Green Party commissioner Tom Digby.
During the 2022 campaign, Sim promised he would hire 100 nurses to join the previously established Car 87 program, alongside 100 new police officers. On February 14, 2023, Vancouver City Council voted to allocate $2.8 million to Vancouver Coastal Health, to hire 58 mental health workers "to support people who are suffering from mental illness combined with lack of stable housing and substance abuse issues."
