The 32nd mayor of Vancouver, Art Phillips, has passed away.
He served as mayor from 1973 to 1977 and also was briefly a Liberal MP in 1979, before losing his bid for re-election.
He was 82 years old.
He leaves behind his wife Carole Taylor, who was finance minister under former premier Gordon Campbell.
Before becoming mayor, Phillips started Phillips, Hager & North, an investment firm he returned to upon leaving politics.
He was considered to be one of Vancouver's more progressive mayors.
Vancouver’s current mayor says the city has lost a "champion of livability and inclusivity.”
In a statement, Gregor Robertson says Phillips helped shape Vancouver through his vision and commitment to public service.
He says Phillips added social housing and parks, helped end plans to build an expressway through the city and helped establish the city's property endowment fund.
Phillips was presented with the Freedom of the City award in 2010 for his contributions.
Former city councillor Gordon Price has high praise for Phillips.
"He was just possibly the best mayor Vancouver's ever had. He set the city on a course that I think we're still on – he and the people he led. It was a remarkable team, perhaps the best council in our history as well – certainly post-war. And, his legacy in the shape of the city will live on for generations."
Price says you can see Phillips' legacy in the Granville Mall, the south shore of False Creek, looking at mixed-use neighbourhoods and the way the city deals with downtown density.