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 in what has become ongoing harassment targeting his family. 

Sim, who is running for re-election on Oct. 17, said in an interview Friday that he expects this to happen as a politician but seeing his family members receive hateful messages is difficult. 

“It’s definitely not something that she signed up for, and you know it does affect her,” said Sim. 

Sim said in a video interview posted online that he and wife, Teena Sim, had planned to film the video together on Sunday about their experiences during his time as mayor.

But he said in the video that they decided she should remain out of the spotlight after the threatening message on Instagram days before. 

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.”

He said in the video that while he has a “pretty thick skin,” his family didn’t ask for this treatment.

Sim said he didn’t report the threat to the police. 

“It’s just one of those things where I’m sure it gets highlighted. By the way, the police in all jurisdictions do a great job in monitoring this stuff,” he said. 

He said this has happened before, where threats are made online, while other people have gone to their house.

“Well, look, we’ve had numerous incidents at my house, or around my family, or around my time in office, even at city hall,” he said. 

Sim previously said he and his family have been targeted by multiple incidents and hate-fuelled attacks, including a bomb threat, while their home was 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.

It’s not unusual for politicians to receive political threats. B.C. Infrastructure Minister Bowinn Ma said last year that she has received about half a dozen death threats over her eight years in the legislature.

Sim’s video has been getting reaction online, with many offering support and sympathy, while a few said he played the victim card.

Attacks against politicians aren’t healthy for democracy and can discourage people from running for office, he said. 

“I don’t think that’s great for our society, regardless of where you stand on the political spectrum.”

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