Pure Vancouver

Securing
Our Foundations.

Pure Vancouver is a serious plan to rebuild the basic foundations of the city: safer schools, stronger infrastructure, family-supporting housing, intergenerational community spaces, and stronger action against homes being left empty during a housing crisis.

This is not about adding more pressure on working families. It is about making sure Vancouver's highest-value luxury properties and vacant homes contribute more directly to the public systems that keep this city livable.

The principle

The wealth generated in Vancouver should help rebuild Vancouver.

A careful, legally honest path for asking luxury wealth and vacant homes to help rebuild the public systems residents rely on.

$5M+

luxury property threshold

100

days to remove excuses

policy and accountability sections

Public

reporting on every fund outcome

The Policy

Details for serious voters,
media, and donors.

Each section opens into the detailed plan, while keeping the page easy to scan on desktop and mobile.

Vancouver is one of the wealthiest real estate markets in the world, but too much of that wealth fails to return to the public systems that make the city function.

A Muhammad Ahmad administration will seek the legal authority needed to establish a dedicated luxury infrastructure levy on residential properties assessed above $5 million.

This would not be a general tax increase. It would be a targeted tool focused on luxury real estate, with revenue placed into a protected public fund.

The levy should be designed as a marginal levy. That means it would apply only to the portion of a property's assessed value above $5 million.

This policy will require proper legal authority and likely provincial cooperation. The position is honest: City Hall cannot pretend it already has every tool it needs. A Muhammad Ahmad administration will fight to secure those tools.

Luxury wealth should help rebuild the city that made that wealth possible.

Example

A home assessed at $4.9 million would not pay the levy.
A home assessed at $6 million would only pay on the $1 million above the threshold.
A home assessed at $10 million would pay only on the $5 million above the threshold.

Revenue should be protected for

01Civic infrastructure upgrades
02School-safety acceleration
03Childcare expansion
04Intergenerational community hubs
05City-owned rental housing
06Non-market and below-market housing
07Public land development
08Neighbourhood resilience projects

Pure Vancouver FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Clear answers on legal authority, empty homes, renters, seniors, and what City Hall can actually do.

Can the City tax empty homes?

Yes. Vancouver already has an Empty Homes Tax. The issue is not whether the tool exists. The issue is whether City Hall is using it aggressively enough, transparently enough, and directing the revenue clearly enough toward housing.

Pure Vancouver would strengthen enforcement, improve audits, reduce loopholes, and ensure revenue supports housing people can actually live in.

Can the Empty Homes Tax go up?

Yes, Council can consider changes to the Empty Homes Tax through the proper bylaw and legal process.

The campaign position is that repeat vacant properties should face escalating consequences. A home left empty once should pay. A home left empty year after year during a housing crisis should pay much more.

Are we proposing an immediate 50% tax?

No. The policy should explore a maximum escalation tool of up to 50% for chronic, repeat, high-value vacant homes, subject to legal review and proper bylaw design.

This should not be framed as a flat 50% tax on all vacant homes.

Can the City create a luxury property levy on its own?

Not fully. A targeted luxury infrastructure levy would require proper legal authority, likely involving the Province.

That is why this plan is honest about the legal pathway. As Mayor, Muhammad Ahmad would lead the campaign to secure that authority instead of pretending City Hall already has every tool it needs.

Why target properties over $5 million?

Because Vancouver's infrastructure crisis should not be paid for by the same families already struggling with rent, mortgages, groceries, childcare, and transportation.

A $5 million threshold focuses the policy on true luxury real estate while protecting everyday homeowners.

Would this affect renters?

The policy should be designed to avoid adding costs to renters. The focus is on luxury ownership, vacant homes, and protected public investment.

Revenue would be directed toward increasing housing supply, supporting city-owned rental housing, and strengthening community infrastructure.

What about seniors who own expensive homes but have limited income?

The policy should include a deferral mechanism for eligible low-income seniors or fixed-income homeowners above the threshold.

That means the levy could be deferred until sale, transfer, or redevelopment of the property, so people are not forced out of their homes because of cash-flow issues.

Can City Hall actually help fix schools?

Yes, but only in the areas the City controls.

The Province funds school capital projects. The Vancouver School Board manages school facilities. But City Hall controls local permits, approvals, fees, inspections, road access, utilities, and land-use coordination.

Pure Vancouver would make sure City Hall removes delays instead of adding to them.

Why combine schools, housing, childcare, and empty homes under one plan?

Because these issues are connected.

Families cannot stay in Vancouver without housing. Housing does not work without childcare. Neighbourhoods do not work without schools. Seniors cannot thrive without community support.

And none of it works if the city allows wealth to sit idle while public infrastructure falls behind.

Final commitment

Rebuilding Vancouver's Foundations

Pure Vancouver means safe schools, stronger infrastructure, family housing, childcare, intergenerational hubs, and empty homes brought back into use.

Homes are for people. Public land is for public good. City Hall should build, not delay.

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