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Justin Beaver telling people in Halifax to ‘give a dam’ about voting

Click to play video: 'Beaver puppet encourages Haligonians to vote in upcoming election'
Beaver puppet encourages Haligonians to vote in upcoming election
A marketing company in Halifax is motivating voters ahead of the upcoming municipal election. Stenvar Creative, in partnership with Splashifax, is using a beaver puppet to engage the public. As Ella Macdonald reports, some politicians are even getting in on the fun.

A marketing company in Halifax is motivating voters ahead of the upcoming municipal election with help from a furry puppet and the satire campaign, Beaver 4 Mayor.

That’s right. Justin Beaver, as he’s known, is appealing to Haligonians to vote. In fact, he’s encouraging young voters to “give a dam” when it comes to local politics.

“I think everybody in politics right now wants a little more transparency about how things are done, they also want to take care of the big issues, housing, affordability — but not one of them have mentioned a dam, so they’re out of here,” Beaver told  Global News.

So far, Justin Beaver has created social media videos with actual human politicians — such as provincial Liberal Leader Zach Churchill and Halifax mayoral candidate Pam Lovelace.

Click to play video: 'Several Halifax mayoral candidates take part in debate'
Several Halifax mayoral candidates take part in debate

The campaign is the brainchild of Stenvar Creative. The company’s co-founder and art director, Sam Skorobogatov, said they wanted to make politics accessible.

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“We wanted to make it lighthearted by using a beaver to create a little bit of fun, a little bit of a cheeky side to the politics that is way more approachable and might interest more people to get involved,” said Skorobogatov.

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“Voting is important, doesn’t matter what age you are, right? But I find a lot of young people don’t realize they also have a voice, also have opportunity to make a change.”

Currently, the company’s main focus is speaking to those eligible to vote. But once the election is over, they hope to introduce a campaign using the beaver to teach kids about politics. =

The municipal election takes place Oct. 19. There are 16 people running for mayor, and no, Justin Beaver is not one of them.

— with a file from Global News’ Rebecca Lau 

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