By The Canadian Press

Vancouver councillor denounced for video saying rivals used and distributed drugs

Feb 24, 2026 | 2:36 PM

VANCOUVER — Several Vancouver municipal councillors say they want a review and “unequivocal censure” of comments by council colleague Lenny Zhou, who accuses his party’s rivals of being drug users who distributed drugs on the streets in a Chinese-language social media video.

Zhou posted the video on Chinese-language social media platform WeChat last week while rallying supporters to sign up to speak against supportive housing in an upcoming council meeting.

In the video, Zhou says in Mandarin that councillors who are not part of Mayor Ken Sim’s ABC Party majority “are drug users themselves,” asserting that “right before Christmas, they were publicly distributing drugs on the streets.”

Green councillor and mayoral candidate Pete Fry says he and other non-ABC councillors Rebecca Bligh, Sean Orr and Lucy Maloney are jointly denouncing the publication of “inflammatory and harmful misinformation.”

Neither Zhou nor Sim’s office immediately responded to requests for comment.

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The non-ABC councillors say Zhou’s statement is a “fabrication of malicious and known falsehoods” aimed at inflaming sentiment in “foreign-language media,” and it appears inconsistent with a councillor’s oath of office and code of conduct.

Fry says Zhou’s conduct could “potentially engage Criminal Code provisions on defamatory communications.”

“Short of alleging a criminal offence, Councillor Zhou’s behaviour requires immediate impartial review and unequivocal censure,” Fry says.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 24, 2026.

Chuck Chiang, The Canadian Press