Fry names defeated rival Rebecca Bligh to lead Vancouver mayoral transition team

The person Pete Fry has chosen to help him prepare for City Hall's top job is the woman who ran against him for it.

Vancouver's Mayor-Elect announced he has appointed outgoing Coun. Rebecca Bligh, the Vote Vancouver mayoral candidate in this month's civic election, to lead his transition team. The appointment came just ahead of the new City Council's inauguration on Monday, Nov. 2, 2026, and one day after Bligh delivered farewell remarks at the outgoing council's final public meeting.

The transition work will shape how Fry's first 100 days begin. Bligh will help him start work on his priorities for that period, provide advice and chair a group focused on the transition.

In a statement, Fry said he has worked with Bligh on council for eight years and that she knows how City Hall works and how to get things done. Bligh said the election is over and what matters now is the work ahead for Vancouver.

She was first elected as a city councillor in 2018 under the Non-Partisan Association. According to Daily Hive, she was ejected from ABC Vancouver in February 2025 because of infighting with the party. She also served as president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities for a major portion of her second term.

In the mayor's office, Bligh will work with Dominique Damian-Wallace, whom Fry has selected as chief of staff, as Daily Hive Urbanized previously reported, and with Cheryl Rowley, who will be deputy chief of staff.

In a separate announcement earlier in the week, COPE Coun. Sean Orr was expected to be named Fry's deputy mayor. Orr received the most votes of any city councillor candidate in the election. Fry told Daily Hive Urbanized he has a strong working relationship with Orr that has developed since last year.

The new council is inaugurated on Nov. 2.