---
title: "Bright Future Vancouver mayoral candidate Muhammad Ahmad says city hall has forgotten working-class renters"
description: "The Tyee interviewed Ahmad, a BCGEU member and Marpole renter who started a new party after talking to workers on the 2025 strike line and finding no existing party matched his priorities."
canonical_url: "https://voche.me/news/muhammad-ahmad-bright-future-platform-october-13"
last_updated: "2026-10-17T19:03:21.626Z"
---

Muhammad Ahmad launched Bright Future Vancouver after the 2025 BCGEU strike, The Tyee reported on October 13. Ahmad told the outlet that city hall has not worked for working-class people and that no existing Vancouver party shared his priorities.

Ahmad, 34, is a renter in Marpole. He works as a communications officer for the BC Ministry of Citizen Services and is a member of the BC General Employees' Union, The Tyee reported. He said speaking with fellow workers on the 2025 picket line pushed him toward running for office.

## Why he started a new party

Ahmad told The Tyee he approached COPE, the Vancouver Liberals, and the Green Party of Vancouver before deciding to run independently. He said his interview with COPE for their mayoral candidate slot ended because, in his words, "they wanted somebody that they can control." He said his priorities also differed from those of the other parties.

Ahmad is running alongside six council candidates: Andy Lin, Judith Kasiama, Ibrahima Cisse, Yadwinder Mangat, Mohadesah Gharib P. Arasi and Bilal Khan. He told The Tyee he interviewed 60 to 70 people before choosing them, looking for candidates who had never run before but had lived experience serving their communities.

## What he is proposing

Ahmad told The Tyee that Bright Future Vancouver's platform centres on cost relief for working-class residents. Key items, all attributed to Ahmad and unverified by The Tyee or this site:

- A pilot making transit free for riders 18 and under, with longer-term negotiations with the province and TransLink aimed at eventually removing all fares.
- City-run grocery stores on city-owned land selling food at prices Ahmad says would be 30 to 40 per cent below private stores.
- Rent-to-own housing.
- 24-hour childcare, which Ahmad said nurses asked his campaign to include.

On addiction and mental health, Ahmad described a program he calls Aurora Skills Academy. He told The Tyee the city would house people voluntarily seeking recovery in office buildings for six months at no charge, with UBC and BCIT providing job retraining during that time. He said Bright Future Vancouver is already in talks with both institutions. He said the idea came from conversations with people living in the Downtown Eastside.

He also proposed daily street cleaning by city-hired workers, and mental health support spaces inside Vancouver Public Library branches and community centres.

## His view of current city hall

Ahmad told The Tyee that Vancouver "has been run like a business for over 100 years" and that working-class residents have not benefited. He pointed to the previous council's zero per cent property tax increase as an example of a decision that helped property owners without reducing costs for renters.

A voter who wants to compare Ahmad's positions with those of other mayoral candidates can read his profile at [/candidates/muhammad-ahmad](/candidates/muhammad-ahmad). Voting day is October 17, 2026.

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