Add StudioX as a preferred source on GoogleVANCOUVER, B.C. — Mayor-elect Pete Fry has selected COPE councillor-elect Sean Orr to serve as his first deputy mayor and appointed outgoing councillor Rebecca Bligh to lead his transition team as the new Vancouver council prepares to take office on November 2.
The appointments signal an effort to build working relationships beyond Fry’s Green Party slate. Bligh ran against Fry for mayor on the Vote Vancouver ticket, while Orr was re-elected to council as a COPE representative. Fry has said he wants each incoming councillor to have a defined area of work.
Sean Orr selected for deputy mayor role
Fry has named Orr as his first deputy mayor, according to CityNews Vancouver. The role is expected to place Orr in a position to act for the mayor when required and give the COPE councillor a formal role in the incoming administration.
Orr was re-elected in the October 17 municipal election and received the highest vote total among the successful council candidates, with 83,247 votes in the City’s official results. He has described the new working relationship with Fry as more direct than the arrangement he experienced during the previous council term.
Rebecca Bligh to lead the transition
Bligh, an outgoing councillor who ran for mayor against Fry, will lead the transition team and help the mayor-elect prepare priorities for his first 100 days. She is not a member of the incoming council.
Fry said he chose Bligh because they worked together on council for eight years and he values her experience with City Hall. Her appointment brings a former political rival into the transition process at a time when the incoming mayor will need support from councillors outside his own slate.
Staff and regional appointments
Daily Hive reported that Dominique Damian-Wallace, a lawyer who worked on the Green Party of Vancouver campaign, has been selected as chief of staff, with Cheryl Rowley as deputy chief of staff. Bligh will work with both as the new mayor’s office is organized.
CityNews also reported that Fry has reappointed ABC Vancouver councillor Mike Klassen to the Metro Vancouver Board. The appointment gives the incoming council a regional representative as it begins work with the regional district on transportation, housing, utilities and other shared issues.
What happens next
Fry and the new 10-member Vancouver City Council are scheduled to be sworn in on November 2, 2026. The transition team’s immediate work will include preparing the mayor’s first-100-days priorities and organizing the new administration’s approach to housing, public safety, transportation and climate policy.
The appointments are announcements from the mayor-elect and transition team. They should not be confused with completed council decisions or policies; the incoming council will still need to make formal decisions through its regular governance processes.
Sources
- CityNews Vancouver — Vancouver mayor-elect names transition team, deputy mayor, October 28, 2026.
- Daily Hive — Pete Fry names outgoing Vancouver City Councillor Rebecca Bligh to lead mayoral transition, October 28, 2026.
- City of Vancouver — Official 2026 election results, October 21, 2026.
- City of Vancouver — Pete Fry biography and council record.
Harnaik Singh Rathor is the Founder, Publisher, and Editor-in-Chief of StudioX News Canada, Canada's multilingual digital news network serving multilingual diaspora communities across Canada. With a background in media production, public relations, and multicultural communications, he founded StudioX Film and TV Corporation to bridge the gap between mainstream Canadian media and the country's diverse immigrant communities. He is a member of the Canadian Association of Journalists (CAJ), RTDNA Canada, CPRS Vancouver, NEPMCC, and the Canadian Freelance Union (Unifor). Based in Surrey, British Columbia. | LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/harnaiksinghrathor/ | Muck Rack: https://muckrack.com/harnaiksinghrathor | Email: editor@studioxnews.ca
