Last year, we launched our Power 50 Hall of Fame to honour the city’s most consistent, enduring sources of influence. For 2025, we continue this new tradition, and we’re pleased to induct five more pivotal political and cultural figures into this esteemed group. These are people who have graced the list multiple times over the Power 50’s 24-year history, and who continue to inspire and impact the city with everything they do.
Our 2025 Power 50 Hall of Fame Inductees
Penny Ballem
Her CV is staggering: not only is Ballem a highly respected physician, she’s also had impactful stints as an outspoken government advisor, clinical professor at UBC and longtime city manager. A power player, wherever she goes.
Carole Taylor
Taylor started her career as a journalist and then never stopped asking the important questions; her tenacity and commitment to service led her to a political career, where she introduced North America’s first carbon tax.
Douglas Coupland
He was one of alt-literature’s darlings in the ’90s with generation-defining novels like Gen X, and, over the ensuing decades, he has become a multidisciplinary artist exploring themes of pop culture and identity. His public artwork (both government and private commissions) are now landmarks: hello, Digital Orca.
David Suzuki
He was an early, public voice raising awareness about the climate emergency and sustainable living—there’s no doubt that Vancouver attitudes over the past decades are due at least in part to him. After 44 years, Suzuki stepped back from hosting his CBC show The Nature of Things, passing the torch to his daughter in January 2024—not a bad run.
In Memoriam: John Horgan
We were heartbroken to hear of the former B.C. premier’s passing this past fall. A fixture on this list for his political work during his time in office, he was also a generous and kind leader with a sharp sense of humour. His memory lives on.
PAST INDUCTEES
The Aquilini Family, Michael Audain, James K.M. Cheng, Darren Entwistle, Thomas Fung, the Fuller Family, Ian Gillespie, Frank Giustra, Yoshiko Karasawa, Brandt Louie, Joy MacPhail, Jim Pattison, Bob Rennie, Tamara Vrooman and Chip and Shannon Wilson
