09 October 2026
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Release - Vancouver Liberals Will Bring Young People Back to Vancouver
Kareem Allam, Vancouver Liberals have four-point plan to accomplish primary objective of bringing young people back to Vancouver
VANCOUVER, BC - Before Day 3 of advanced voting in the 2026 Vancouver Municipal election, Mayoral Candidate Kareem Allam and the Vancouver Liberals have restated their emphatic commitment to bringing young people back to Vancouver, and giving those already here a reason to stay. Costs of living in Vancouver have been rising, while quality of life has been declining, leading to the departure of many who would otherwise create lives and build families in the city.
“Since the start of our campaign, I’ve been saying ‘I’m running for one reason, and one reason only, and that’s to bring young people back to the City of Vancouver’. If there’s any one thing that we want you to take away from our platform, it’s that young people are the future of our city, and it’s why the Vancouver Liberals are running for mayor, City Council, the Park Board, and School Board” said Allam. “Vancouver is fast approaching becoming Canada’s oldest city by average age, so the time to act is now.”
The Vancouver Liberal plan to bring young people back has four primary components:
- Connecting UBC to Vancouver helps our young people because we’ll build an innovation corridor that creates jobs and improves how the city’s students get to and from their education. See the original press release here.
- Faster, Cheaper Housing Construction replaces the Vancouver Building Code, speeds up timelines, and gives young people the affordable living space they need to actually stay here. See the original press release here.
- Hiring 400 Frontline Service Workers, including maintenance, community center, and library workers directly improves the quality of lives of not just our young people, but Vancouver’s residents at large, while creating unionized jobs. See the original press release here.
- Addressing Organized Crime with a ‘Tony Soprano’ Approach to addressing the top levels of the crime food chain with our means we’re hamstringing the organized drug trade’s supply chain and financing, making our streets safer and keeping our residents healthier. See the original press release here.
The Vancouver Liberals have proposed other specific policies directed towards the economic prosperity of young people. Many young people in Vancouver are entrepreneurs or otherwise employees of small businesses, which comprise the majority of the city’s businesses.
The Vancouver Liberals will restore the Vancouver Economic Commission, cut permitting times from eight months to three at a minimum, and protect industrial and artist spaces to help small businesses succeed. Development-potential relief will also be provided to small businesses to ensure they are taxed on how their land or space is used, not on the value of what a developer could do with the land.
Community benefit agreements with developers on major projects will also be implemented to make sure that job and apprenticeship opportunities exist for youth and equity-deserving groups as our city develops further. The CBAs will ensure the jobs pay a living wage, and meet responsible contractor standards. The Vancouver Liberals see this as a means to create jobs and housing at the same time.
Entertainment and recreation are a vital part of Vancouverites’ quality of life, and the Vancouver Liberals also have plans to maintain and improve upon these areas where necessary. They will fight to keep the Whitecaps in Vancouver, and bring other large sporting teams and events to the city. FIFA was a tremendous success, and created a model that can be followed in the future.
“I believe in the great Canadian social contract that my generation is supposed to create the winning conditions for the next generation. That way, when I retire, there’s someone to pay for the social programs that I need. To make this happen, young people need to be able to return to Vancouver, and stay in Vancouver. Under a Vancouver Liberal government, they will be able to,” explained Allam. “Together We Can”
-30-
Media Assets:
Video (YouTube):
https://youtube.com/shorts/k2QZtYjN3eA
Kareem Allam is available to speak with members of the media.
Media Contact:
Vancouver Liberals Communications