Tourists and locals alike have flocked to the bright red "Vancouver" sign outside Canada Place in downtown Vancouver since it was installed in December, so many will likely be happy to know that Vancouver may be getting a permanent sign soon — although likely not in its current form.
On Tuesday, Councillor Peter Meiszner shared on social media that he was filing a notice of motion that would see the City of Vancouver erect a permanent "Vancouver" sign somewhere in city.
"There's so much coming to our city. We've got FIFA coming in 2026, we've got the Grey Cup, we've got the Invictus Games, we've got the Juno Awards, and I just think it's time that we get our own permanent 'Vancouver' sign to share our love and pride for our beautiful city — not just with locals, but with visitors from around the world," Meiszner wrote.
The sign outside Canada Place was erected by Destination Vancouver and the Hotel Development Association, said Meiszner, who also sought out ideas for what the permanent sign should look like and where it should be placed.
Of course, any new sign would have stiff competition with the iconic East Vancouver sign, also known as the "East Van Cross," which is located near the intersection of Clark Drive and East 6th Avenue.
The famous East Vancouver sign.(Leon Wang / Shutterstock)
Asked why the City couldn't just retain the existing sign outside Canada Place, Meiszner responded saying that the sign was not designed to be permanent and to withstand all weather conditions.
Responding to another commenter, who suggested the City not use the colonial name for the city, Meiszner said he was planning to involve the host First Nations in the design of the new permanent sign.
Other commenters asked Meiszner if people will be able to live in the new sign — alluding to Vancouver's well-documented housing crisis and likely implying that Council should be focused on that rather than the sign. To the latter, Meiszner said he was "working hard on that as well."
Meiszner said he will file his notice of motion at today's Council meeting and the motion will be discussed by Council in two weeks.
