Abubakar Khan, 24, Vancouver City Council
When Abubakar Khan talks about his run for Vancouver City Council, he speaks with an inspiring amount of passion.
“That word [young] needs to change,” he said to me. “Age should not be such a big, defining factor. I really hope that young people realize that we can do this [run for office] as well. We don’t need to wait until we’re 40 or 50 to take a chance or to make a difference civically.”
At the age of 24, Abubakar could be Vancouver’s youngest City Councillor to date. To him, that means he’s defying the stigma of young people being inexperienced. He’s out to prove that young folks have a perspective that’s just as valuable as any other.
“Young is a new perspective. It’s one that’s been missing in this arena especially. There are about 110,000 millennials in Vancouver, but no voice representing that on City Council.”*
Abubakar told me he’s running for office because he had no other option. He volunteers his time with multiple groups and attempts to contribute his thoughts, but often feels overlooked. “I’m taking on initiatives, attending rallies… and I’m often stuffing envelopes. You’re in the room, but you’re not taken seriously. Are we just checking a box for someone?”
He also mentioned how British Columbia’s new campaign finance rules level the playing field and allow younger candidates to have a better shot at making it into office. “It’s no longer about who has the deepest pockets — it’s rendering that useless. The power of social media can bring people together more than ever. You don’t need hundreds of thousands of dollars to get your word out anymore.”
Overall, Abubakar talked about how bringing youth to the table is ultimately about connection. Vancouver’s has a multitude of studies on how to connect and engage its citizens, and Abubakar want to build on that with an annual hackathon where people from diverse folks come together to solve some of the city’s greatest challenges. “Youth are entrenched in these issues. I want to see youth working with everyone — regardless of age — and help bring solutions to the table. It’s what we need — contemporary solutions to contemporary issues.”
You can read more about Abubakar at khanforcouncil.ca.
*The term ‘millennial’ is often used quite broadly to define young people. As of March 2018, The Pew Research Centre defined them as those born between 1981–1996 (ie 22–37 years old). Statistics Canada’s 2016 census says there are 218,620 people in Vancouver between 20–39 years of age (34.6% of the total population). I could not confirm all the ages of the current City Councillors in Vancouver to determine if any might identify as a millennial. Hector Bremner, a current City Councillor running for Mayor of Vancouver, is 37 years old.
