Experience as Mayor of Vancouver

In 1986, after having served just one year on council, Mr. Campbell was elected mayor of Vancouver, a position he would hold for three consecutive terms. At just 38 years old Mr. Campbell was the youngest person ever to be elected to the mayor’s office. As mayor, he oversaw a significant transformation of Vancouver.  He eliminated the ban on Sunday shopping and launched a unique planning process for the North Shore of Vancouver’s False Creek, a piece of land that had been called, “an industrial waste land” since 1968.  The process was successful and led to a rezoning that opened the waterfront of False Creek to the public for the first time in generations.  The redevelopment also provided the city with parks, community centres and a school site that enhanced the quality of life for all Vancouverites.  Mr. Campbell and his council also introduced many progressive policies including establishing the country’s first needle exchange program in Vancouver, starting the city’s blue box recycling program, implementing same-sex benefits for city employees and helped establish North America’s first free standing children’s hospice, Canuck Place.  Mr. Campbell also spearheaded the creation of Vancouver’s internationally-renowned public library

Mr. Campbell and his council’s re-zoning of commercial and industrial lands created some of Vancouver’s most vibrant areas, including Yaletown. As Chair of the Greater Vancouver Regional District, Mr. Campbell guided the region’s ‘Creating Our Future’ program that led to the liveable region strategy that was adopted in the mid-1990s.  Mr. Campbell was also president of the Union of BC Municipalities. In that role, he encouraged the establishment of a local government Bill of Rights, the forerunner to his government’s Community Charter.

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