By The Canadian Press

Vancouver Mayor Sim sends apology to Chinese media over drug slur of his opponent

Mar 4, 2026 | 2:52 PM

VANCOUVER — Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim is filling the gaps left in his apologies to fellow Coun. Sean Orr, who he falsely accused of distributing illegal drugs after being shown a photo that he didn’t verify.

The mayor’s office says Sim’s apology has been sent out to Chinese-language media, the same group who heard the original claim during a media roundtable on Feb. 6.

Sim said during a news conference on Tuesday at city hall that he “unreservedly apologized” for his mistake, and the source of his false claims was a photo he was shown.

The mayor said he didn’t verify what he saw, and if photos like this come up, a higher standard must be met before he makes comments.

The Chinese statement, shared by the mayor’s office on Wednesday, repeated Sim’s remarks on Tuesday — but the apology still hasn’t been posted on the Chinese social media site WeChat.

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That’s where Coun. Lenny Zhou, who is a member of Sim’s ABC majority on council, partly repeated Sim’s false statement, saying non-ABC councillors are drug users.

Zhou later said he “unequivocally apologized” and retracted his video, which had been shared 1,700 times and got 596 likes.

Orr said Tuesday that he hasn’t seen the photo supposed to be him, but it was incompetent of Sim not to fact-check before going to the media.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Mar. 4, 2026.

The Canadian Press