Vancouver mayor called on to apologize to Chinese-speaking communities over drug accusation

Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim, left, and Coun. Lenny Zhou are seen in a briefing for Chinese-speaking reporters at city hall in Vancouver, on Friday, Feb. 6, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Nono Shen

Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim is facing calls to apologize to Chinese-speaking communities after he falsely accused a councillor of handing out illegal drugs.

While Sim told reporters last week he had apologized to Coun. Sean Orr, former NDP MLA Henry Yao says that’s not enough and Sim should apologize to the same group of Mandarin-speaking reporters and influencers who were present when he originally made the claim.

On Feb. 6, Sim accused Orr of “handing out illegal drugs on Christmas Day to people on the streets,” in a briefing for Chinese-speaking media.

Yao says Sim should return to the group to issue an apology and retract his statement, and the mayor’s continued failure to do so seems like trying to “reap benefit from his mistake.”

Yao says some of his family members, who rely on Chinese media for news, are still unaware of Sim’s false statement and apology to Orr and when he mentioned it, their reaction was: “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“They have not heard about Ken Sim lying to the media, sending out disinformation on WeChat,” said Yao.

But he said some of his family members are aware and clear about the ABC Party’s “anti-drug” political stance.

Sim’s ABC Party colleague Coun. Lenny Zhou issued a statement in English last week apologizing for partially repeating the false claim, but he did not immediately share the apology on Chinese social media platform WeChat, where he mentioned the falsehood in a video statement.

Coun. Rebecca Bligh says Sim needs to make a public written apology, which can be posted on WeChat and shared with the Mandarin-speaking community.

“In terms of the credibility and trust that the public has in Mayor Ken Sim, I expect that has been compromised, and he will need to do whatever work he can to restore that. And it won’t happen with just a simple apology to Coun. Orr,” said Bligh.

Neither Sim nor Zhou were available for comment on Monday.

Yao said he has seen in previous provincial elections how language barriers can be exploited to spread misinformation, and now he worries about the integrity of the upcoming municipal election in October.

Sim has not explained where he received the false information about Orr, or why he shared it, instead telling reporters at an unrelated event last week that he had apologized to Orr, then repeating that statement several times when asked to elaborate.

Bligh, who’s running against Sim for mayor in the local elections this year, said that making his apology public in that way isn’t good enough.

“It felt like that the councillor and subsequently, the mayor has let down Vancouverites by using language barriers to exploit a particular population in our city and create such division and misunderstanding of city policy,” said Bligh.

Bligh said these kinds of misunderstandings are making it more difficult for other councillors to do their jobs, particularly around “nuanced debates” like supportive and social housing.

“Whether you like it or not, Vancouver is dealing with a homelessness crisis, and how we solve that needs to be a transparent and honest public discussion,” added Bligh.

Mike Tan, who spent more than ten years volunteering at Vancouver’s Chau Luen Society in Vancouver to help Chinese-speaking seniors in Chinatown, said that almost all of the Chinese seniors get much of their news from Chinese-language media outlets only.

“And so that’s why I’m so disappointed with Mayor Sim and Coun. Zhou, because they’ve only apologized in English so far, as far as I know,” said Tan.

Tan, who is also seeking nomination for Vancouver City Council, said it’s so important to tell the truth in every language, especially when that’s coming from someone in a place of trust.

“So, it really makes you wonder if this is the first time that Ken Sim has lied to citizens, or is this the first time that he’s been caught?” asked Tan.

Yao said it’s always inspiring to see Chinese Canadian politicians upholding integrity and honesty in their service to the community, and when future generations step forward to run for public office, they can stand tall on the shoulders of the pioneers who have paved the way with honour and dedication.

“But when the politicians actively sabotage that credibility, we’re setting a harder arena for our future generation,” said Yao.

RELATED STORIES:

• Mayor apologizes for spreading false claim about colleague handing out drugs
• Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim started false claim councillor ‘handed out illegal drugs’

This report by Nono Shen, The Canadian Press, was first published March 2, 2026.