3 nights in Vancouver

You need two nights each for both Vancouver and Victoria. If you only have three nights stay in Vancouver.

I loved Victoria. Stay two nights there and one night Vancouver.

Definitely can't see very much of what Victoria has to offer in a day trip, or even on a one nighter. Unfortunately, with only 3 days, I'd pick one or the other. Tough choice.

Stay in Vancouver, as you don’t have enough days to do justice to either as it is. Getting to and from the island can be very time consuming, and there has been ferry cancellations recently due to lack of staff which have caused long waits, so I wouldn’t risk it with so little time. there is lots to see in Vancouver, and three nights means you only have two whole days.

Stay in Vancouver which offers so much to see and do as well as offering wonderful restaurants.

I'm going with the flow here. Three nights in Vancouver gives you only two full days for sightseeing, and there's more than enough to fill that time. It will take the best part of a day just to get to Victoria unless you take a seaplane from harbor to harbor -- very scenic and very expensive. You will feel rushed there unless you give it at least two nights.

This is a case of quality vs. quantity, and I'd recommend quality, i.e. spend enough time in either city to really do it justice. Vancouver has more to offer given your time limitations.

Edit -- You've posted this under "Rick Steves Tours," but RS has no tours outside Europe. You'll get more responses (if you need them) by posting under "Destination Q&A: Beyond Europe."