Park Board commissioner joins Vancouver Liberals party ahead of civic election
Jensen, who is a teacher for this full-time job, was first elected in 2022 under Mayor Ken Sim’s ABC Vancouver party.
However, in late 2023, Jensen and two other ABC commissioners had a fallout after Sim announced his proposal to abolish the Park Board’s separately elected body of commissioners, and transfer the governance responsibilities of Vancouver’s parks and recreation system to the Mayor and Vancouver City Council, and the day-to-day operating responsibilities to City departments.
The three dissenting ABC commissioners against Sim’s proposal were removed from the party in late 2023, and have continued their terms as independents ever since. Opponents called the abolition proposal undemocratic, while supporters asserted it would lead to better parks and recreation results for the public and taxpayers.
The Vancouver Liberals were founded by Kareem Allam, a political strategist and consultant who previously served as campaign manager for Erin O’Toole and Kevin Falcon, led ABC Vancouver’s 2022 civic election campaign, and briefly acted as chief of staff to Sim. Allam and Sim also had a dramatic falling-out; allegations made by Allam prompted Sim to file a defamation lawsuit against his former chief of staff. Jensen and Allam have been vocal critics of Sim and ABC Vancouver’s policies and style of governance.
In October 2025, the party formally nominated Allam as their candidate for Mayor in the election. On the political spectrum, the civic Liberals are being positioned as a centrist party, and they are not affiliated with the provincial and federal parties of the same name.
“I’m proud to be joining the Vancouver Liberals — they are the progressive party for Vancouver. Ken Sim is the biggest enemy of our parks, and Kareem Allam is our biggest champion, and he is going to defend our parks,” said Jensen in a statement, highlighting that during the current term in office, he also served as Park Board’s first-ever Indigenous chair.
Allam added, “He understands what’s at stake for our city, and he’s fought for it every step of the way with unparallelled passion and integrity. We’re thrilled to have him on our team as we build momentum toward 2026.”
Although a public referendum question on abolishing the Park Board is not expected to appear on the October 2026 civic election ballot, the future of the board is still likely to be a major campaign issue for the political parties.
That same month, in October 2025, Sim’s proposal to abolish the separately elected Park Board collapsed after the provincial government revealed its proposed legislation to amend the Vancouver Charter. The legislation was introduced by B.C. Minister of Housing and Municipal Affairs Christine Boyle, who had previously opposed Sim’s plan while serving as a Vancouver city councillor with the OneCity party.
While Sim supported Boyle’s proposal to require a public referendum before abolishing the Park Board, the bill also included a provision creating a special exemption for permanent parkland transfers to First Nations. From the outset, Sim and the City had asked the provincial government to amend the Vancouver Charter to require both unanimous approval by City Council and a public referendum for all permanent parkland transfers and sales.
However, Boyle’s bill removed the public referendum requirement for transfers to First Nations.
Sim opposed this major exemption for First Nations, arguing that residents should have a direct say on every parkland transfer. Boyle subsequently withdrew the bill after a request from First Nations, saying the municipal government needed to consult with First Nations. Sim countered that the exemption had come as a complete surprise to the City and maintained that it was the provincial government’s responsibility to consult with First Nations on its own legislation. According to Boyle, as a measure of reconciliation, this exception for First Nations parkland transfers was requested by former City manager Paul Mochrie, who suddenly departed from the municipal government in July 2025.
However, more recently, this has unfolded against a backdrop of escalating concern that the BC NDP-led provincial government’s approach to reconciliation has gone too far, based on recent surveys gauging sentiment. Public criticism has intensified over what some see as a highly undemocratic, deferential, and submissive posture toward First Nations on all aspects of governance, economic issues, and land ownership, including the government’s handling of public and private property rights in court — most notably in the Cowichan Tribes’ Aboriginal title claim involving land in Richmond.
- You might also like:
- New civic Liberals party propose amalgamating University Endowment Lands with City of Vancouver
- Former ABC campaign manager Kareem Allam to run for mayor of Vancouver in 2026
- B.C. government halts legislation to abolish Park Board over First Nations concerns
- Vancouver mayoral candidate has a plan to lower grocery costs
- New Conservative party takes early lead in 2026 Vancouver election race: survey