Kareem Allam profile

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Good morning! 

I’m sure you’re all as tired of receiving those fundraising emails as I am of writing and sending them. But those types of emails, and those of you who sign up to support Vancity Lookout because of them, are the reason we can continue producing all our stories and newsletters you read.

I’m happy to report that yesterday we reached our fundraising goal of 1,000 Lookout members. In fact, we hit 1,008!

In a time where local news is struggling, the fact that so many of you are willing to contribute, trust us and take a stand to support local news is something none of our team takes for granted. So on behalf of the team, thank you.

Because we hit that goal, we’re well-positioned for expanding our coverage throughout the municipal election.

One last note — there will be no newsletter on Friday, as our team takes off that day for Canada Day.

Let’s dive in.

— Geoff Sharpe, Lookout founder and managing editor

PS - If you find this newsletter valuable, please consider forwarding it to your friends. New to the Lookout? Sign-up for free.

WEATHER

Wednesday: 18 🌡️ 13 | 🌤️

Thursday: 16 🌡️ 14 | ☁️

Friday: 21 🌡️ 14 | ☁️

Story by Nate Lewis. This is part of our ongoing series of profiles of mayoral candidates as part of our Vancouver municipal election coverage. You can read our stories on Pete Fry and Colleen Hardwick.

Kareem Allam says he was born with an interest in public policy. The son of an Egyptian army general and the grandson of a Sudanese activist, Allam grew up around politics and saw its real-world effects.

Hearing those stories as a young person made him more keenly aware of the importance of politics and government and how they impact day-to-day life, Allam told Vancity Lookout during an interview in Downtown Vancouver.

“I'm not particularly ideological about much. I have my theories about what makes societies work, and the experience of my parents, and where they came from, I think colours a lot of that,” he explained.

Now a veteran of 40 political campaigns (of which he won 36, he said), Allam oversaw a landslide electoral victory in 2022 as the ABC party’s campaign manager. But after a brief stint as Mayor Ken Sim’s chief of staff, Allam was ousted and quickly became an outspoken critic of the current mayor.

Allam’s newly-formed party, the Vancouver Liberals, has become the de facto home for many of the other disaffected former ABC officials who have left the party over the past four years. Its candidates for the upcoming election include current park board commissioners Scott Jensen and Brennan Bastyovanszky, as well as sitting school board chair Victoria Jung.

Allam praised Jensen and Bastyovanszky’s characters: “[These are] people who weren't involved in politics before, but were thrown in the fire of having to defend the democratically elected park board, and they fought that fight with vigour [and] integrity, and won.” 

For mayor, Allam made the choice to have a go at the top job himself. 

“It was my natural inclination to go try to find a candidate to run for this next election, and I couldn't find him, so I put my name forward,” Allam said.

Allam certainly had options to get behind another campaign, with six other mayoral candidates now having entered the race. That includes Rebecca Bligh, a two-term city councillor and president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities. Bligh, who Allam calls a “close personal friend [and] a person of immense integrity,” fits the Liberal mould of a former ABC member shed this term by the party.

Allam told Vancity Lookout there’s “more than enough admiration” with Bligh to consider bringing together the Liberals and Bligh’s nascent party, Vote Vancouver, but was non-commital on whether that was actually a real possibility. 

“I've not spoken to Rebecca about merging our parties or coming together in the recent past,” Allam said.

While Allam lacks experience as an elected official, he’s a career campaigner and consultant with experience on several boards. Specifically, Allam’s policy experience falls into three categories: energy, healthcare, and transport.

Sure, A.I. is great, but have you tried real advice from real people? If you’re looking to find out more about everyday life in BC, start with the folks who live here! 

BCAA Connect is the free online community where locals trade tips – seasonal smarts, savings hacks, car questions, home project lessons and the stuff you discover from living in this province. 

Whether you’re new to BC or born and raised, people show up as themselves in conversations guided by community guidelines and daily moderation. It’s less like scrolling an anything-goes feed and more like neighbours helping neighbours. 

It’s organized by topics and groups, so you can follow what you’re into and skip the rest. Browse what’s trending, ask questions, help others, or join the monthly Big Discussion for a chance to win prizes! 

For practical know‑how to get the most out of BC life, join BCAA Connect today.

34

The number of firefighters who responded to a fire inside the Hazelwood Hotel SRO on East Hastings on Monday. There was heavy fire damage, and 12 people were displaced. [CityNews]

🛥️ Six people are presumed to have died off the coast of Vancouver after a boat capsized on Monday evening. Many were not wearing life jackets. Read more. [BBC]

🏑 Should they still be called the Vancouver Giants? The WHL hockey team will be playing out of Surrey, as part of a new $360 million, 10,000-seat arena being built in the city’s downtown core. It’s expected to be completed in 2030. Read more. [Business in Vancouver]

🪧 While Metro Vancouver transit bus drivers have rejected a tentative deal with the Coast Mountain Bus Company, the union representing the workers says there won’t be any job action anytime soon. Read more. [CBC]

🧑‍⚕️ Speaking of job action, the B.C. Nurses’ Union issued a 72-hour strike notice on Monday and will be in a legal position to strike as of Thursday. The union members rejected a deal in May that offered a 12 per cent increase in pay over four years, as well as better benefits. Read more. [CBC]

🏢 A new recovery centre has opened up in the Downtown Eastside. Called The Ashtrey Recovery and Resource Centre, it will offer low-barrier services, from showers and laundry to food hampers, as well as recovery services. It will open on July 1 and is located at 450 E Hastings St. Read more. [The Tyee]

🗺️ UBC has unveiled a new mapping tool that shows all the publicly available land in B.C. The goal of the map is to showcase how the land could be used to build non-profit homes. In Metro Vancouver alone, upwards of 273,000 housing units could be built. Read more. [Urbanized]

🏒 The Canucks have brought on defenceman Guillaume Brisebois on a one-year, two-way contract. He previously played nine games with the Abbotsford Canucks. Read more. [NHL]

Coach homes may not be for everyone, but they do offer many of the benefits of a single-family home at an affordable cost.

This one really has it all — three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a beautiful kitchen and a carport. At 1,070 square feet, it’s not necessarily the biggest. But with this layout and a good-sized backyard, it could be a nice family home.

And the price? It’s not cheap, but it’s also not expensive…

Isaiah Collier “Collier Plays Coltrane” | Vancouver Playhouse | July 1, 7:30 p.m. | An evening of bold, transportive modern jazz that celebrates John Coltrane. | Learn more [Sponsored]

Amina Claudine Myers “Solace of the Mind” | Revue Stage | July 4, 9 p.m. | Jazz legend Amina Claudine Myers brings a moving evening of piano, voice, gospel roots and improvisation. | Learn more [Sponsored]

The Play That Goes Wrong, about a hapless theatre company's show, is getting rave reviews, including from the local arts publication Stir. It’s on at the Lindsay Family Stage on Granville Island until Aug. 16. 

The popular podcast Stuff You Should Know, with over 15 billion downloads, is coming to Vancouver. They’ll be doing a live show on July 23 at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. 

In August, comedian and Emmy-award-winning actress Ali Wong is in Vancouver performing her standup from Aug. 19-22 at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre

Vancouver’s Jazz Fest continues with a great lineup of shows. I’ll be heading to the Isaiah Collier show tonight. A few more shows to check out include guitarist Steve Gunn, Coastal Jazz Artist-in-Residence Wendy Eisenberg, Stranger Friends Orchestra, and Chicago gospel and blues legend Amina Claudine Myers. 

Early Music Festival is worth seeing if you’re a classical music fan. On Aug. 7, you can catch Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, a show that anyone curious about classical music will love. 

Over at the Annex, the Taiwanese and Canadian Musicians Concert Series will have four different shows, including a flute quartet, music from lesser-known composers and chamber music. On from July 18-19. 

I’m a sucker for music and a live orchestra, so there’s a good chance you’ll see me at one of two performances of Jurassic Park in Concert at the Orpheum with the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra on July 9-10. 

VIFF continues with their 90s Baby! series, with My Own Private Idaho, the iconic Boyz n the Hood and Unforgiven.

It’s a Spielberg weekend, with all three Indiana Jones movies (let’s pretend Crystal Skull doesn’t exist) and a 4k restoration of Jaws. There’s also Alejandro G. Iñárritu‘s Amores Perros and Paul Thomas Anderson’s Boogie Nights.

Submit your event and it could appear here and reach 20,000+ Vancouver locals.

By Maddie Dellplain.

A new underground robot battle league in East Vancouver is drawing international attention and bringing a new all-ages hobby to the city.

Read the story

Think you can guess today’s Vancouver Wordle? Play it here.

Every day, Vancouver’s sunsets throw a different colour at us…