4. THE VANCOUVER POLICE DEPARTMENT

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Including the police on this list feels like a lose-lose situation, to be honest. In one corner are social-justice advocates calling to defund the police and address systemic racism in the organization; in the other, a slew of folks arguing that crime has never been worse and the VPD is the only answer for protecting us all.

Whatever side of the divide you sit on, there is no denying that the Vancouver Police Department is a force to be reckoned with. Though the city employs 1,300-plus cops (with new mayor Ken Sim a step closer to fulfilling his campaign promise to hire 100 more), many of whom are likely just trying to keep their head down and do their job, the publicfacing players have been actively and aggressively pushing a pro-police stance—stirring up controversy in the process.

Adam Palmer and Howard Chow (chief and deputy chief, respectively) are active on Twitter, promoting and defending the organization with strategic stories of stranger attacks and getting into high-profile debates with Kennedy Stewart after the former mayor suggested the existence of systemic racism. (Tom Stamatakis, president of the Canadian Police Association, is also regularly caught up in tweetstorms.) And then there’s Ralph Kaiser, head of the Vancouver Police Union: during the civic election, his group made the unprecedented move to organize a debate on crime issues and endorse the ABC party.

Beyond their increased presence in media (traditional and social), the VPD was a regular fixture in city council discussions this past year as the police accused the sitting mayor of creating a hostile environment or appealed to get their budget back (ultimately winning the missing $5 million). Said one Power 50 panellist: “They’re a big presence. They really shape the conversation.”

Beyond their increased presence in media (traditional and social), the VPD was a regular fixture in city council discussions this past year as the police accused the sitting mayor of creating a hostile environment or appealed to get their budget back.