EXCLUSIVE: For municipal political parties, what's in a name?

Vancouver's eclectic slate of municipal parties has two new additions — the Liberals, and the Conservatives. While both share the names of provincial and federal entities, they are not affiliated in any way, shape, or form.British Columbians know all too well how sharing nomenclature with a party at another level of government can impact one's success, but in the municipal arena — where problems and solutions are harder to map onto the federal spectrum — what's in a name? The parties in question, launched by Vancouver mayoral candidate Kareem Allam and ex-BC Conservative deputy director David Denhoff, respectively, have gone to great lengths to differentiate themselves from their more established doppelgängers. Both feature distinct branding and fresh perspectives on issues that matter to Vancouverites..Mayor Sim demands BC NDP take action so Vancouver can abolish 'costly and outdated' Park Board.In interviews with the Western Standard, both Denhoff and Allam dismissed concerns that the similarity to federal and provincial parties would cause confusion among voters, making it clear that what matters is not the party name itself, but what the name stands for in the broader political context."Our party represents 'small-c conservatives,' Denhoff said. "We've gotten a really strong and positive reaction to the launch of the party and I think that's largely driven by folks who are really keen to see small-c conservative policies and candidates on the ballot coming from a brand they know and that they can trust."While Denhoff has registered Conservative parties in 15 municipalities across BC (so far), Allam is focused solely on Vancouver. He encouraged voters to look at his platform instead of simply seeing "Liberal" and jumping to conclusions about what he stands for.."This is my my first time running as a candidate in a political party," he said, "but when I looked around at, you know, what was the name of a party that reflected my values and a party that I think reflects the values of the largest number of Vancouverites, that Liberal name certainly kept speaking out to me."Allam, who previously served as current mayor Ken Sim's chief of staff, expressed hope that his party would be appealing to anyone unhappy with his former boss' performance, and that anyone — regardless of their political leanings — would feel welcome calling themselves a local Liberal. "Our party is a broad-based, big tent coalition that's aiming to get democrats, liberals, and progressive conservatives under one tent," he said. "Wrestling with the big issues of the day, we want a broad round table of different perspectives."Allam pointed out that in Vancouver, there is a "cross-stitch of people who might be historical voters in one way federally, but municipally, it changes.".'Ugly' benches on Granville Street Bridge 'will be replaced' as project progresses, city says.He argued that many of the things that motivate city-dwellers to vote a certain way — garbage pickup, construction and upkeep of parks and recreational spaces, potholes — are not "left or right issues," thus its not helpful to equate his new party to the centre-left federal Liberals or centre-right (former) BC Liberals."I will not be spending $800 million on a brand new city hall for people who do nothing more than manage other managers," Allam declared. "I will be spending that money directly on community centres, swimming pools, and libraries."He added that unlike Sim, he's "not a fan of promoting Bitcoin," describing it as "a tool for money laundering that drug cartels are using to wreak havoc on our streets.".Denhoff said the reason he and his team decided to go with "Conservatives" was to "provide voters with clarity" in amongst a number of "vaguely-branded" municipal parties."They often try and be on both sides of issues or water down their positions to the point where it's not providing value for voters," he claimed, "and often once they they get into office, it's very difficult to tell what they'll do — or sometimes it'll be not quite what voters were expecting."In Vancouver, the main political parties are currently ABC (A Better Vancouver), OneCity, COPE (Coalition of Progressive Electors), and the Greens. Only the latter two's names provide any insight to voters about where they might stand on particular issues.Denhoff went on to argue that conservative, on the other hand, "means something to people in particular ... candidates who are going to lower taxes, candidates who are going to make sure that we have safer streets and that we have policies that are putting families first, making sure that , you know, there's world-class parks and playgrounds that are safe for kids and families to use."He's managed to bring some big-name federal Conservatives on to help steer the party. The advisory board chair and vice chair, for example, are former cabinet minister Kerry-Lynne Findlay and Vancouver-Centre candidate Elaine Allan, respectively. The former served alongside Stephen Harper for years, while the latter delivered the strongest conservative showing in her riding since the 1980s..If Allam wins for the Liberals or Denhoff's candidate brings it home for the Conservatives, it wouldn't be the first time a candidate running under either banner has become mayor of Vancouver.In the first third of the 20th century, the Conservatives and Liberals dominated the city's political scene. Between 1909 and 1936, no other party formed government. Allam explained that the two eventually joined forced to govern together under a new name, the Non-Partisan Association.While the NPA saw success as recently as 2005, when Sam Sullivan was elected mayor, other parties have slowly risen to overtake the once great coalition.Allam saw the revival of the Liberal and Conservative names not as a something new, but rather, as a "reversion back to ... the way things were" all those years ago."Vancouver has had a long history of political parties with federalized names," he added. The most prominent recently has been the Green Party. That's been around for close to 20 years now. I think what we're seeing is Vancouver voters have an affinity and have a connection ... in seeing municipal parties align with some semblance of a policy thrust."Vancouver's next municipal elections are scheduled to take place on October 17, 2026.