Vancouver mayor tells of hateful messages targeting his family

VANCOUVER — Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim says his wife received a threatening message on her social media account, as part of ongoing harassment targeting his family.

Sim, who is running for re-election on Oct. 17, says in a video that he and wife Teena Sim had planned to film the video together on Sunday, reacting to their experiences during his time as mayor.

But he says they decided she should remain out of the spotlight after she got a threatening message on Instagram days before filming.

The video shows a series of threatening messages including one saying the recipient has “an ugly family” and referring to skin colour, while another proposes removing “his head from his body.”

Sim says his family gets lots of threats, some people dropping into online direct messages, while others have gone to their house.

He says while he has a “pretty thick skin,” his family didn’t ask for this treatment.

Sim says he and his family have been targeted by multiple threatening incidents and hate-fuelled attacks, including a bomb threat and their home being defaced with “hateful” graffiti on Halloween night in 2024.

There are eight candidates running for mayor in Vancouver, including Sim who has held the office since 2022.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 26, 2026.

The Canadian Press