Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim’s frequent flying: Is it vital work or misguided priorities?

Critics say Ken Sim’s globe-trotting is good for the city; critics disagree

In the first half of his four-year term, ABC Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim spent significantly less time than his predecessors in public meetings, and more time — and public money — travelling abroad to promote the city, a Postmedia review of attendance and voting records shows.

Sim’s supporters say he is being a smart boss, delegating ordinary business to his team of councillors so he can spend his limited time tackling more important things far from meeting rooms.

His detractors say he seems more inclined to enjoy spending time in airport lounges and hotels, often on the taxpayer dime.

Mario Canseco, president of the Vancouver public opinion firm Research Co., said both sides have valid points.

“ABC might say, ‘We don’t need the mayor to be here all the time,’ and he should be free to explore other opportunities or do things differently … talk to other mayors and talk to other people outside to figure out how to help the city,” Canseco said.

“But it’s also viable for the opposition to say, ‘Your job is to be here.’ … Especially now, that the mayor can connect to a meeting from afar,” Canseco added, referring to that fact that council members can join city meetings online.

“I think it’s one of those rare cases where they’re both right.”

Since being elected in October 2022, Sim has been missed 36 per cent of council votes — not attending in person or online.

That is more than double the rate of his predecessors, Kennedy Stewart and Gregor Robertson. Stewart, mayor from 2018 to 2022, was absent for 16 per cent of votes. Robertson, mayor from 2008 to 2018, missed 14 per cent between 2016 and 2018, the only part of his time in office for which figures were available.

Over the last two years, Sim has opted not to join his counterparts at meetings of TransLink’s mayor’s council on regional transportation, instead sending an ABC councillor in his place. He has also missed about 75 per cent of Metro Vancouver board and committee meetings, usually, but not always, sending an ABC councillor to fill in. Sim has also missed five of the six meetings of the park board transition working group.

The travel budget of the mayor’s office has grown under Sim, allowing him to attend tech, business and cultural conferences around the world.

Sim’s office said the mayor has spent some of his own money for much of his civic-related travel. But the “discretionary travel and training” budget of the Vancouver mayor’s office has grown during Sim’s time in charge. During his first full year in office, the $41,743 Sim’s office spent on travel was 65 per cent higher than what Robertson’s office averaged during his three terms, and more than double what Stewart spent in his first full year, before COVID-19 lockdowns took effect in 2020.

COVID-19 halted most travel in March 2020, partway through Stewart’s term in office. But even before that, Stewart did not travel much, other than to Ottawa and Victoria. Stewart’s expenses for discretionary travel and training over four years totalled $38,214, an average of $9,553 annually.

Sim’s expense records show he also travelled to Boston and Seattle for meetings with government officials.

In an emailed statement, Sim’s office said the mayor’s role is “not just leading Vancouver locally but also serving as a passionate advocate for the city on the global stage.”

“These trips are a vital part of showcasing Vancouver as a world-class destination for investment, tourism, and innovation,” the statement said. “The role of mayor goes far beyond attending council votes or meetings.”

By building relationships with other global leaders and investors, and learning from the successes of other cities, especially ahead of events like the 2026 FIFA World Cup, Sim is ensuring Vancouver “stays competitive, forward-thinking, and connected,” the statement said.

Stewart, who served as mayor from 2018 until he lost in his bid for re-election to Sim in 2022, said it seems like being mayor is not Sim’s top priority.

“I think it’s basically his side-hustle, which is not good for the city,” Stewart said.

Stewart is skeptical about the value Vancouver taxpayers get out of Sim’s frequent flying.

“You really don’t have to travel for this job. The only real travel you’d ever have to do is Ottawa or Victoria,” said Stewart, who is now a professor of public policy at Simon Fraser University.

Stewart was an independent mayor overseeing a fractured council, where many decisions were made by a 6-5 vote, so he needed to be present in meetings more frequently.

By contrast, Sim’s individual vote is not as crucial. As long as the other ABC councillors attend, Sim’s party has a supermajority whether the mayor is present or not. Robertson, like Sim, oversaw a council where his party had a supermajority.

ABC tried to use that criticism of Stewart during the 2022 race, recalls Kareem Allam, who managed ABC’s successful campaign and briefly served as Sim’s chief of staff.

“I recall specifically during the election, we talked about the importance of Vancouver leading at the regional level,” said Allam, now a partner at public relations firm Fairview Strategy, who has become a vocal critic of ABC since leaving City Hall.

“People want Vancouver to be more present at the table, and that was a big reason why I think a lot of voters voted for ABC, is they wanted to see us to lead regionally. And that’s not happened,” Allam said.

Allam questioned why Sim felt it was more important to go to Brazil than to Burnaby, where Metro Vancouver meetings are held.

“He’ll go to São Paulo, but he won’t go to Burnaby. It sounds like he doesn’t have his priorities right.”

Before entering politics, Sim found success in the business world, working as an accountant and investment banker before starting the two companies.

As a successful private-sector boss with wealthy friends, Sim might be accustomed to travelling more frequently than many Vancouverites, Canseco said. “He probably looks at this and goes: ‘I’m not travelling that much, it’s significantly less than I travelled before I was mayor.’”

But there could be a political risk if voters think they are paying for trips the mayor enjoys as a perk of his new job, instead of something that improves the city, Canseco said.

“If you want to be a globe-trotting mayor, fantastic. But have something to show for it at the end. Not just, you know, that ‘I just came back and I learned a lot.’ … Is there anything the city is getting out of all this travel?”

With research by Nathan Griffiths