Every policy I back has to answer one question: does this make life better for the people already living here — not just the people who might move here someday. That means giving young entrepreneurs a real reason to build their future in Vancouver instead of taking their talent elsewhere, cutting red tape so a good idea and a spare room can become a business, affordable housing so people can actually stay, and safe, well-maintained public spaces. If elected, my goal is a Vancouver that keeps its own talent and its own residents, not one that pushes them out.
Vancouver should be a city people build their future in, not one they leave. Too many young, talented people I know have left this city — and this province — because the cost of living is too high and the path to building something of your own is blocked by red tape. My plan focuses on removing those barriers.
On housing, I want density paired with real infrastructure — sewers, transit, schools — approved alongside growth, not years behind it, along with protections so existing homeowners aren't pressured to sell and first-time buyers can actually compete for starter homes. I'll also push to keep new parking underground wherever possible, so our skyline and street-level spaces stay for people, not cars.
On opportunity, I want to make it dramatically easier to start a small business — whether that's from home through fast-tracked permitting, or through a pop-up storefront, sandbox permit, or City-backed micro-loan for young entrepreneurs just getting started. Vancouver has the talent; it shouldn't be this hard to build here.
On public spaces, families and residents deserve parks, transit stops, and sidewalks they can actually use — which means real enforcement paired with outreach and support, not neglect in either direction. And I want Vancouver thinking bigger: growing food locally through vertical farming and community gardens to cut costs and shipping dependency, and building a City-backed rideshare alternative that keeps driver pay fair and keeps our money in our own economy instead of shipping it out of the country.
My council would be strong enough to execute on all of this at the ground level, so our mayor can stay focused on the big picture for Vancouver's future.
Trois principaux enjeux
Biographie
struggling families are supported, and people born here are not pushed out of the communities they helped build.
Born and raised in Metro Vancouver, Bilal is running to help build a city where the middle class can thrive, struggling families are supported, and people born here are not pushed out of the communities they helped build.
Growing up on local farms, attending Point Grey Secondary, and later experiencing homelessness gave Bilal firsthand insight into the cracks around housing, affordability, and opportunity. Driven by faith and service, he
believes meaningful change starts with leaders who understand what people face every day.
Bilal is the founder of Kgyoka, a Vancouver organization spanning a nonprofit foundation and a commercial enterprise arm, building digital infrastructure and community programming for local ventures and outside clients.
That hands-on experience building something of his own in this city is what's driving his run for City Council: he's lived the barriers firsthand, and wants to make it easier for the next generation of Vancouver builders to do the same.
Raison de la candidature
through affordable housing, real support for young entrepreneurs, safer public spaces, and cutting red tape that
blocks new ideas.
I've watched too many talented people I know leave Vancouver, and even the province, because they couldn't see a future here — the cost of living is too high and the path to building something of your own is blocked by red tape.
With Bright Future Vancouver, I want to change that. I'm focused on cultivating the next generation of Vancouver entrepreneurs — mentorship, startup support, and a dramatically simpler path to launching a business from home, whether that's a barbershop, a studio, or a small restaurant. Alongside that, we need affordable, family-sized housing so young people can actually put down roots here, and public spaces that are safe and well-kept for the community we're building. Vancouver's growth should strengthen neighbourhoods, not strain them past what their infrastructure and communities can support.