A total of 36 candidates registered to participate, and on the day of the event 30 were present at UBC Robson Square Theatre.

The event unfolded over six elimination-style rounds. Candidate names were randomly drawn in groups of between two to five candidates (depending on the round), and spoke in the order that their name was drawn. Each set of candidates responded to one question posed by our Last Candidate Panel of Inquisition, comprised of Dan Fumano (Vancouver Sun), Penny Daflos (CTV) and Jen St. Denis (The Tyee).

The best answers from each set earned a pass to the subsequent round. Answers in Rounds 1 through 3 were ranked by the Panel. Rounds four through six were decided by audience response – with audience evaluation measured through the use of a noise meter.

After two-plus hours of fierce competition between participants, the field was narrowed to two final candidates, Michael Wiebe and 2018 winner Christine Boyle. The two duked it out in one final round… with Wiebe emerging victorious as the 2022 Last Candidate.

Last Candidate was designed by the VPSN, and co-presented with the support of the SFU City Program and UBC School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture. The event was enabled through the exceptional work of a 10-person volunteer team.

VIDEO

Last Candidate Live Stream Recording

RECAP OF ROUNDS & SETS

Round 1

The first Round featured a total of 30 candidates, appearing on stage in 10 sets of three candidates. Two passes were awarded for the best answers in each set.

Set 1.1: Christine Boyle, David Chin, Francoise Raunet.

• Boyle and Raunet earn passes to Round 2

Set 1.2: Eric Redmond, Amie Peacock, Morgane Oger

• Redmond and Oger earn passes to Round 2

Set 1.3: Morning Lee, Arezo Zarrabian, Marlo Franson

• Zarrabian and Franson earn passes to Round 2

Set 1.4: Kyra Philbert, Michael Wiebe, Dominic Denofrio

• Philbert and Wiebe earn passes to Round 2

Set 1.5: Ian Cromwell, Leona Brown, Sean Orr

• Cromwell and Brown earn passes to Round 2

Set 1.6: Ryan Charmley, Mark Marissen*, Imtiaz Popat
* Marissen left the debate prior to being called to stage

• Charmley and Popat earn passes to Round 2

Set 1.7: Pete Fry, Stephanie Smith, Devyani Singh

• Smith and Singh earn passes to Round 2

Set 1.8: Marie Noelle Rosa, Mauro Francis, Nancy Trigueros

• Rosa and Trigueros earn passes to Round 2

Set 1.9: Amy Fox, Golok Z. Buday, Alvin Singh

• Fox and Singh earn passes to Round 2

Set 1.10: Iona Bonamis, Honieh Barzegari, Tessica Truong

• Bonamis and Barzegari earn passes to Round

Round Two

Round Two featured 20 candidates, drawn to the stage in four sets of five. Three passes were awarded for the best answers in each set.

Set 2.1: Christine Boyle, Devyani Singh, Francoise Raunet, Marie Noelle Rosa, Arezo Zarrabian

• Boyle, Singh, and Raunet earn passes to Round 3

Set 2.2: Iona Bonamis, Kyra Philbert, Morgane Oger, Nancy Trigueros, Alvin Singh

• Bonamis, Oger, and Singh earn passes to Round 3

Set 2.3: Marlo Franson,* Imtiaz Popat, Honieh Barzegari, Ian Cromwell, Stephanie Smith
* Franson departed before being called to stage

• Barzegari, Cromwell, and Smith earn passes to Round 3

Set 2.4: Leona Brown, Eric Redmond, Ryan Charmley, Amy Fox, Michael Wiebe

• Brown, Fox and Wiebe earn passes to Round 3

Round Three

Round Three featured 12 candidates, on stage in three sets of four candidates. Two passes were awarded for the best answers in each set.

Set 3.1: Leona Brown, Ian Cromwell, Morgane Oger, Francoise Raunet

• Oger and Raunet earn passes to Round 4

Set 3.2: Christine Boyle, Alvin Singh, Honieh Barzegari, Michael Wiebe

• Boyle and Wiebe earn passes to Round 4

Set 3.3: Iona Bonamis, Devyani Singh, Amy Fox, Stephanie Smith

• Singh and Smith earn passes to Round 4

Round Four

Round Four featured 6 candidates, on stage in two sets of three candidates. Two passes were awarded for the best answers in each set.

Set 4.1: Francoise Raunet, Devyani Singh, Michael Wiebe

• Singh and Wiebe earn passes to Round 5

Set 4.2: Morgane Oger, Christine Boyle, Stephanie Smith

• Boyle and Smith earn passes to Round 5

Round Five – Semi Final Round

Round Five featured four candidates, on stage in two sets of two candidates. One pass were awarded for the best answers in each set.

Set 5.1: Christine Boyle, Stephanie Smith

• Boyle earns a pass to Round 6

Set 5.2: Devyani Singh, Michael Wiebe

• Wiebe earns a pass to Round 6

Round Six – Final Round

Round Six featured the final two candidates.

Set 6.1: Christine Boyle, Michael Wiebe

• Michael Wiebe wins Last Candidate 2022
• Christine Boyle runner up

Last Candidate turns the usual debate format on its head, giving everyone running for office a chance to take the stage and share their views on local issues. Alongside the the discussion of key election topics, Last Candidate also delivers music, theatre and a bit of light-hearted fun.

Mark your calendars and plan to attend! This year’s edition will take place:

Saturday, October 1, 2022
UBC Robson Square Theatre
Start time: 2:00pm

Tickets are now available. Reserve your seat for Last Candidate 2022 today!

For this fifth edition of Last Candidate Standing, the Vancouver Public Space Network is delighted to be able to collaborate with the SFU City Program, and the UBC School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture.

Candidates had their names drawn randomly. Each set of candidates was given one question by our Panel of Inquisition (consisting of the CBC’s Justin McElroy, Discourse Media’s Francesca Fionda, and CTV’s Jon Woodward). The best answers in each set earned a pass to the next round.

MC Vanessa Richards kept the evening moving along, and an on-stage team, including time-keepers, score-keepers, our own “city clerk,” and the Mistress of the Gong, ensured that event proceeded without incident. Additional support was provided by a team of on-the-ground volunteers, while event sponsorship came via the Imperial Theatre, MRG Group, and Faculty Brewing.

Video of the event was graciously provided by Rick Etkin Productions – Rick Etkin and Gary Jones.

The following gives an overview of the different rounds and sets.

Round 1 – 11 sets of four candidates, three passes awarded per set

Set 1.1 – Maynard Aubichon (Independent), Jason LaMarche (Independent), Satie Shotta (Independent), Elizabeth Taylor (Vancouver First)

LaMarche, Shotta and Taylor advance to Round 2

Set 1.2 – Glen Chernen (Coalition Vancouver), Raza Mirza (Pro Vancouver), Shauna Sylvester (Independent), and Graham Cook (Independent)

Mirza, Sylvester, and Cook advance to Round 2

Set 1.3 – Tanya Paz (Vision Vancouver), Brandon Yan (OneCity), Pete Fry (Green Party), and Connie Fogal (IDEA)

Paz, Yan, and Fry advance to Round 2

Set 1.4 – Rohana Rezel (Pro Vancouver), Diego Cardona (Vision Vancouver), Katy Le Rougetel (Independent), Marlo Franson (Independent)

Rezel, Cardona, and Franson advance to Round 2

Set 1.5 – Penny Noble (Independent), Gölök Buday (Independent), Larry Falls (Independent), and Adrian Crook (Independent)

Noble, Falls, and Crook advance to Round 2

Set 1.6 – Abubakar Khan (Independent), Nycki Basra (Vancouver First), Rob McDowell (Independent), and John Yano (Independent)

Khan, Basra, and McDowell advance to Round 2

Set 1.7 – William John Spark (Independent), Justin Caudwell (Independent), Ping Chan (Independent), and Jean Swanson (COPE)

Caudwell, Chan, and Swanson advance to Round 2

Set 1.8 – David Chen (Pro Vancouver), Ken Low (Vancouver First), Françoise Raunet (Independent), and Gerald “Spike” Peachy (Independent)

Chen, Low, and Raunet advance to Round 2

Set 1.9 – Derrick O’Keefe (COPE), Anastasia Koutalianos (Independent), Christine Boyle (OneCity), and Elke Porter (Independent)

O’Keefe, Boyle, and Porter advance to Round 2

Set 1.10 – Ashley Hughes (Independent), Tim Ly (Independent), Franco Peta (Coalition Vancouver), and Catherine Evans (Vision)

Hughes, Peta, and Evans advance to Round 2

Set 1.11 – Katherine Ramdeen (Independent), Elishia Perosa (Independent), Melissa DeGenova (NPA), and Michael Wiebe (Green Party)

Perosa, DeGenova, and Wiebe advance to Round 2

Set 1.8 – Gerald “Spike” Peachy, Françoise Raunet, Ken Low, and David Chen (Photo: Rob Nordrum)

Round 2 – 11 sets of three candidates, two passes awarded per set

Set 2.1 – Françoise Raunet (Independent), Penny Noble (Independent), and Catherine Evans (Vision Vancouver)

Raunet and Evans advance to Round 3

Set 2.2 – Jean Swanson (COPE), Franco Peta (Coalition Vancouver), and David Chen (Pro Vancouver)

Swanson and Peta advance to Round 3

Set 2.3 – Tanya Paz (Vision Vancouver), Adrian Crook (Independent), and Shauna Sylvester (Independent)

Paz and Sylvester advance to Round 3

Set 2.4 – Melissa DeGenova (NPA), Marlo Franson (Independent), and Derrick O’Keefe (COPE)

DeGenova and O’Keefe advance to Round 3

Set 2.5 – Larry Falls (Independent), Raza Mirza (Pro Vancouver), and Elizabeth Taylor (Vancouver First)

Mirza and Taylor advance to Round 3

Set 2.6 – Brandon Yan (OneCity), Abubakar Khan (Independent), and Ken Low (Vancouver First)

Yan and Khan advance to Round 3

Set 2.7 – Pete Fry (Green Party), Justin Caudwell (Independent), and Ping Chan (Independent)

Fry and Caudwell advance to Round 3

Set 2.8 – Nycki Basra (Vancouver First), Ashley Hughes (Independent), and Graham Cook (Independent)

Hughes and Cook advance to Round 3

Set 2.9 – Rohana Rezel (Pro Vancouver), Rob McDowell (Independent), and Elishia Perosa (Independent)

Rezel and Perosa advance to Round 3

Set 2.10 – Michael Wiebe (Green Party), Christine Boyle (OneCity), and Elke Porter (Independent)

Wiebe and Boyle advance to Round 3

Set 2.11 – Diego Cardona (Vision Vancouver), Satie Shottha (Independent), and Jason LaMarche (Independent)

Shottha absent for Round; Cardona and LaMarche advance to Round 3

Round 3 – 7 sets (six sets of three candidates with two passes awarded per set; one set with four candidates, three passes awarded)

Set 3.1 – Abubakar Khan (Independent), Jason La Marche (Independent), and Michael Wiebe (Green Party)

Khan and Wiebe advance to Round 4

Set 3.2 – Brandon Yan (OneCity), Raza Mirza (Pro Vancouver), and Ashley Hughes (Independent)

Yan and Mirza advance to Round 4

Set 3.3 – Rohana Rezel (Pro Vancouver), Graham Cook (Independent), and Franco Peta (Coalition Vancouver)

Cook and Peta advance to Round 4

Set 3.4 – Justin Caudwell (Independent), Melissa DeGenova, and Shauna Sylvester (Independent)

DeGenova and Sylvester advance to Round 4

Set 3.5 – Pete Fry (Green Party), Jean Swanson (COPE) and Elishia Perosa (Independent)

Fry and Swanson advance to Round 4

Set 3.6 – Tanya Paz (Vision Vancouver), Elizabeth Taylor (Vancouver First), and Catherine Evans

Paz and Evans advance to Round 4

Set 3.7 – Derrick O’Keefe (COPE), Christine Boyle (OneCity), Françoise Raunet (Independent), and Diego Cardona (Vision Vancouver)

Boyle, Raunet and Cardona advance to Round 4

Round 4 (three sets of five participants; two passes awarded per set)

Set 4.1 – Françoise Raunet (Independent), Catherine Evans (Vision Vancouver), Jean Swanson (COPE), Pete Fry (Green Party), Christine Boyle (OneCity)

Fry and Boyle advance to Round 5

Set 4.2 – Aubakar Khan (Independent), Tanya Paz (Vision Vancouver), Shauna Sylvester (Independent), Melissa DeGenova (NPA), and Brandon Yan (OneCity)

Sylvester and Yan advance to Round 5

Set 4.3 – Michael Wiebe (Green Party), Graham Cook (Independent), Raza Mirza (Pro Vancouver), Diego Cardona (Vision Vancouver), and Franco Peta (Coalition Vancouver)

Wiebe and Cook advance to Round 5

Set 5.1 – Michael Wiebe, Christine Boyle, and Pete Fry (Photo: Andrew Pask)

Round 5 (Semi-Final Round) (two sets of three participants; one pass awarded per set)

Set 5.1 – Pete Fry (Green Party), Christine Boyle (OneCity), and Michael Wiebe (Green Party)

Boyle advances to Round 6

Set 5.2 – Brandon Yan (OneCity), Graham Cook (Independent), and Shauna Sylvester (Independent)

Sylvester advances to Round 6

Round 6 (Final Round) (one set of two participants)

Set 6.1 – Christine Boyle (OneCity) and Shauna Sylvester (Independent)

Christine Boyle is the Last Candidate Standing

Wednesday, October 3, 2018

Imperial Theatre

319 Main Street

6:00pm-10:00pm*

(A very BIG thank you to the film crew at SFU Woodwards, and the SFU Vancity Office of Community Engagement for the quick turn-around on this.)

Enjoy!

Last Candidate Standing – Part 1

Last Candidate Standing – Part 2

The event started off with an introduction by Paola, chair of the Vancouver Public Space Network. The rest of the debate ran smoothly thanks to the humorous MC Mark Busse,  Industrial Brand partner & managing director. He also made sure there was absolutely no delay hitting the gong when the one-minute limit was up for each candidate.

MC Mark Busse

The debate went on through three rounds of questioning. Candidates stood under a bright spotlight and answered questions to showcase their diverse ideas for Vancouver’s future. These questions were posed by the Panel of Inquisition: Emily Jackson of Metro News, CTV News reporter Jon Woodward, and Jackie Wong, UBC/Megaphone Magazine. To make it even more engaging, a few audience members were able to ask questions as well. Candidates answered questions on a huge range of topics, including how Vancouver can shake its ‘no fun city’ title, our tech sector, bike lanes, and City Hall’s transparency to the public. To top it all off, five-minute breaks featured The New Shackletons playing music for everyone to enjoy.

Panel of Inquisition: From left to right – Jackie Wong, Jon Woodward, Emily Jackson

And because this isn’t your regular debate, the event was filled with creativity such as rapping, plush toy props, sound effects, distributing election pins to please the panel, humour, and Vancouver Cedar Party‘s audience-wide pizza delivery. The evening’s lively and friendly atmosphere featured passionate speeches, with enthusiastic clapping and cheering from both the audience and the candidates.

Panel of Inquisition, candidates and the very important gong

In the end, it was up to Pete Fry from Green Party of Vancouver and Andrea Reimer from Vision Vancouver to battle it out. With the audience clapping and whistling, and a .1 difference in the sound meter, the winner of this year’s Last Candidate Standing debate goes to…Andrea Reimer!

A huge thank you to everyone who volunteered to make this event happen and everyone who came out despite the rainy and chilly Vancouver weather. Make sure you vote on November 15th, and just like what one candidate said – even if you have to drive your reluctant friend to a voting location, make sure they vote!

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The 2014 Edition of Last Candidate Standing is produced by the Vancouver Public Space Network, with amazing support from SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement, and the Urbanarium Society.

Make sure you check out VPSN’s Flickr for the event’s photos!

RainCheque: NeighbourMaker Design Jam – October 30 @ 7pm

The VPSN is proud to participate in the following event hosted by MOV and Vancouver Design Nerds (VDN). Join us as we hear from this summer’s NeighbourMaker team as they share stories about some exciting new placemaking projects that promote inclusion and connectivity in Vancouver.

The event features additional presentations on placemaking by Krisztina Kassay (VIVA), Caroline Ballhorn (Tin Can Studio), Ryan Betts (Bazinga!), and Andrew Pask (VPSN), as well as a special VDN Design Jam entitled RainCheque! The Jam will focus on a very timely question: How can we make new social connections in the rain?

Tickets – $11 for MOV members, $15 for non-members. Visit the RainCheque Eventbrite page.

Halloween SkyTrain Party – October 31 @ 8pm

Ladies and gentleman, get your make-up ready. The annual VPSN Halloween SkyTrain Party returns for its ninth installment on Friday, October 31, 2013.

Gather your friends, get your scariest and sassiest costumes together, and get ready to jump on the Canada Line for public transit experience like no other. Your job: help us to transform a regular ol’ train ride into a bit of ghoulish magic!

The night of transit terror includes:

• On-deck action and a spankingly awesome soundtrack courtesy of DJ Rocky Fi$her – Soundcloud)
• Snappy decorations, tasty treats
• An after-party at a nearby public space
• The best-dressed crew of public space loving ghouls and goblins on the continent

IMPORTANT: Please be sure to visit the VPSN website or Facebook Event Page for important information.

Last Candidate Standing – November 2 @ 2pm

Most definitely not your typical election event! Back by popular demand, Last Candidate Standing is a unique political debate that is open to each and every of the 10 candidates running for mayor and 49 candidates for council. This is truly an all candidates forum.

Last Candidate Standing is set up as a ‘mixer.’ It allows incumbents and new nominees, independents and party-affiliated candidates to share the same stage, answer questions from our Panel of Inquisition, and showcase their political chops. To make things even more lively, we add musical guests and other fun throughout.

The 2014 edition of Last Candidate Standing is produced by the Vancouver Public Space Network with the gracious support of SFU’s Vancity Office of Community Engagement, and the Urbanarium Society.

This event is FREE but space is very limited. Pre-register on our Eventbrite page.

For more information, you can also check the event listing on this website, or visit our Facebook event page.

Attention candidates! Nominees for Mayor and Council are asked to confirm their participation in Last Candidate Standing by contacting jessica [at] vancouverpublicspace [dot] ca.

Active Fiction at Riley Park – Coming Soon!

The Active Fiction Project (AFP) is back after a bit of a summer break! Do you like walking through neighbourhoods? Do you like reading things? Do you like choose-your-own-adventure books? The Active Fiction Project creates (very) short fictional stories that take place in a Vancouver neighbourhood. The stories are ‘hidden’ in public spaces for readers to discover as they walk through the story.

The next installation of Active Fiction will take place in Riley Park, starting in late October. Stay tuned for details on where to find the stories! You can follow project updates on the Active Fiction website, or follow us on twitter @activefic and Facebook.

Volunteers Needed

If celebrating transit, enriching local politics, or rolling up your sleeves with other public space projects tickles your fancy, why not lend a hand? Our next regular VPSN volunteer orientation takes place on Monday, October 20 @ 6pm. If you’d like more details, please zip us a note at volunteer@vancouverpublicspace.ca

Many of you who weren’t able to make it out the Last Candidate Standing event on November 6, 2011 have been asking us how it went. Thanks to the good folks at 3RDI, the work of our volunteer videographers has now received a quick edit and is online for your viewing pleasure.

Last Candidate Standing was produced by VPSN and UBC’sSchool ofArchitecture + Landscape Architecture, and held at UBC Robson Square Theatre. 30 candidates participated in the event – a mixture of folks running for either the Mayor’s job or a seat on Council. Participants from all the major parties were in attendance, as was a healthy assembly of independents. (We like to think that Last Candidate is one of the most inclusive election events around!) 

Round One saw groups of three candidates randomly selected and invited to the stage by MC Steve Burgess. Candidates were then given a question by the Panel of Inquisition – Matthew Soules (UBC), Alissa Sadler (VPSN), David Beers (The Tyee) and Theresa Lalonde (CBC). The best two answers earned a pass to Round Two, where the process was repeated with groups of four. The number of contestants was reduced each subsequent round… until there was only Last Candidate remaining.

Curious to see candidates tackle interesting, off-the-wall questions? Take a look at the following clips from the event. These are the clips from Round One (all posted to YouTube). The rest will be linked as soon as we get ‘em.

Round 1, Set 1 – Geoff Meggs (Vision), Rick Orser (Ind.), Victor Paquette (Ind.)

Round 1, Set 2 – Dubgee (Ind.), Lauren Gill (RICH), Chris Masson (De-Growth)

Round 1, Set 3 – Michael Dharni (Ind.), Chris Shaw (De-Growth), Amy “Evil Genius” Fox (Ind.)

Round 1, Set 4 – Ken Charko (NPA), Randy Helten (NSV), Andrea Reimer (Vision) 

Round 1, Set 5 – RJ Aquino (COPE), Joe Carangi (NPA), Aaron Spires (RICH)

Round 1, Set 6 – Menard Caissy (Ind.), Terry Martin (NSV), Darrell Zimmerman (Ind.)

Round 1, Set 7 – Golok Zoltan Buday (Ind.), Sean Bickerton (NPA), Sam Pelletier (Ind.)

Round 1, Group 8 – Ellen Woodsworth (COPE), George Affleck (NPA), Sandy Garossino (Ind.)

Round 1, Set 9 – Bill McCreery (NPA), Kerry Jang (Vision), Ian Gregson (De-Growth)

Round 1, Set 10 – Nicole Benson (NSV), Grant Fraser (Ind), Adrienne Carr (Green)

November 19 is Municipal E-Day in Vancouver. The VPSN is pleased collaborate with UBC’s School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture to produce Last Candidate Standing – a unique election event that is open to ALL 61 Council and Mayoral Candidates. Not to be missed.

Vancouver, BC (November 2, 2011)

Unlike other debates, Last Candidate Standing doesn’t just focus on the frontrunners – all 61 registered candidates running for mayor or council have been invited to make their case before an expert panel and a sold-out audience of more than 200 voters.

Candidates will be on the clock as they respond to the panel’s questions covering a broad range of campaign issues. The candidates with the best answers, as judged by the panel and audience, will move on to the next round – those that don’t measure up will be eliminated. At the end of the night, only one candidate will be left standing.

“This event is a great opportunity for voters to learn about the diversity of candidates who are seeking office in our city,” says Anthony Hamilton, coordinator of the VPSN’s Democratic Spaces working group. “We’re pushing the boundaries of the debate format to have some fun while creating a more inclusive public forum that represents the full spectrum of viewpoints in this election.”

Last Candidate Standing will be hosted by Vancouver-based writer and broadcaster Steve Burgess. Panelists include:

• Theresa Lalonde, reporter, CBC Vancouver
• Matthew Soules, assistant professor, UBC School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture
• David Beers, editor-in-chief, The Tyee
• Alissa Sadler, vice-chair, Vancouver Public Space Network

The sold-out event takes place from 7 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. at UBC Robson Square. In between rounds of the candidate showdown, local band Wee Boy Pretty will provide musical entertainment. Limited wait-list spots available: lastcandidatestanding.eventbrite.com

Last Candidate Standing is part of the VPSN’s Vancouver Votes initiative. Throughout the civic election campaign, the VPSN has been maintaining www.vancouvervotes.ca as an up-to-date, non-partisan resource collecting candidate survey responses, election news, and essential voter information. Vancouver Votes is also active on Twitter at @VanVotes.

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More information:
www.vancouvervotes.ca
www.twitter.com/vanvotes (event hashtag: #LCSVan and #VanElxn)

Media contact:
Anthony Hamilton
Vancouver Public Space Network
604.565.1213
anthony@vancouverpublicspace.ca