Kareem’s mother was a refugee, and his father was a Colonel who spent 11 months as a prisoner of war. His family’s experience with international conflict has shaped his belief that peace and prosperity come from bringing people together from all sides, and once achieved, must be protected at all costs.

Kareem also has a deep belief in the two social contracts that underpin our society: that a thriving economy is necessary to pay for world-class social programs, and that each generation has a responsibility to look after the next. It is the erosion of these social contracts in Vancouver that has led young families and working class people to leave our city. Getting them back, more than anything else, that has driven him to run for Mayor.

A lifelong Vancouverite, Kareem has spent more than 25 years engaged in municipal, provincial, and federal governance. Currently a partner at Richardson Strategy Group, he is a former Director of Public Policy at the Vancouver Board of Trade and served a term on the Fraser Health Board of Directors. He has also been a senior policy advisor to federal and provincial ministers, senior civil servants, and Indigenous chiefs and councils.