WATCH: Vancouver swears in new mayor, city council

Vancouver's new mayor and city council have been sworn in.

The ceremony took place at the Orpheum on Monday in front of an audience filled with friends, family, and politically-engaged locals.

Proceedings kicked off with welcomes from representatives of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh nations. Then began the official swearing ins.

First up was Mayor Pete Fry. After reciting the oath of office, he donned the mayoral chain and signed the papers.

Next came the councillors, Annette Reilly, Stephanie Smith, Camil Dumont, Bridget Burns, Chloe Leslie, Devyani Singh, Solomon Yi-Kieran, Lucy Maloney, Sean Orr, and Mike Klassen.

Following the formal portion of the event, Fry and his team received another welcome, this time from traditional Chinese lion dancers.

The dancers — er, the lions, took turns "eating" the lucky lettuce on stage before playfully tossing it at the newly-elected officials.

Fry capped things off with his inaugural address as mayor of Vancouver. He recalled the moments during the campaign that stood out to him most — namely engaging with residents.

"I may be mayor, but I'm also a neighbour," he said. "Being a good neighbour means listening carefully, it means showing up, it means working through difficult conversations and staying at the table even when things get complicated. That's the approach I hope to bring to City Hall."

Fry made it clear that while he and his new colleagues will undoubtedly have their disagreements, what matters is that they work together in the best interest of Vancouverites.

"The values that unite us are more important than the challenges that are in front of us," he declared, "and when we choose collaboration over division, hope over cynicism, community over self-interest, it’s magic, folks."

Many of those now on council have accused the previous administration of putting ideology ahead of the needs of the city while they themselves have not shied away from voicing their deeply-held beliefs. When asked by Sitka Media during a post-ceremony press conference how he will ensure ideology does not win out under his watch, Fry said it all starts with "honest and respectful dialogue."

"Every single one of these people behind me have very different perspectives," he said, "and what my earnest intention is that we somewhat drop our party colours to some extent, and just focus on what our strengths are and how we can move those forward so that we're really prioritizing not partisan interests but the interests of the people of Vancouver and how we're improving their lives."