A Grade 6 student from Calgary sat down with federal election candidates from her riding for interviews that touched on everything from the importance of political participation to party discipline.
Although she’s too young to vote, 11-year-old Emma Sveistrup interviewed candidates from the Calgary Centre riding; including the Liberal’s Kent Hehr, the Green Party’s Thana Boonlert, and NDP candidate Jillian Ratti for the YouTube show, The Owls Nest.
The channel is part of a Sveistrup family project that allows Emma and her brother Josef, 15, to explore educational topics.
WATCH: The three candidates running for MP in the riding of Calgary Centre sit down for a unique interview just days before the federal election.
The interviews with the three candidates were shot in different locations and edited into a 17-minute video posted to YouTube on Oct. 10.
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Emma begins the segment by introducing the three candidates and asking them what they think is important for kids her age to learn about politics.
The Liberal’s Kent Hehr got the first chance to respond saying that governments should be responsible for “creating quality of opportunity.”
“You can build your life as a Grade 6 student, go to school, get health care, get access to post-secondary so you can take care of yourself and become whatever you want,” he said.
The NDP’s Ratti response was short and to the point.
“Politics affects everybody, even kids. Especially kids, maybe, because the decisions we’re making right now are going to affect you when you’re older,” Ratti said.
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The Green’s Boonlert spoke about civic engagement and turning around Canada’s low voter turnout.
“The more you get involved now, the more interested you are, the more likely you’ll be to vote. Right now one of the biggest problems in Canada is low voter turnout,” he said.
The most astute question raised by the young Calgary politico was about party discipline and the tendency for candidates to fall in line with party leaders rather than the constituents they serve.
“You fight hard on behalf of your constituents…you don’t always win those battles but if you fight hard with reason, common sense and science, you’re more successful than you’re not,” said Hehr
Ratti said she would vote against her party if a policy negatively affected her riding.
“I believe in most of what my party does but at the end of the day, if it came down to something that was obviously not going to be good for the people of Calgary Centre,” she said. “I would have no problem voting against my party but it’s a tough thing.”
Boonlert said that as a member of the Green Party “we have a no whip policy, which is great so I can truly and fully represent the constituents of Calgary Centre.”
Absent from the interviews was incumbent Conservative candidate Joan Crockatt.
When contacted by Global for comment Crockatt’s campaign said they had reached out to Sveistrup to do an interview and were waiting to hear back.
Chris Sveistrup, Emma’s father, told Global News he had attempted to contact Crockett’s campaign several times when they were filming.
“They had their chance. I reached out to them several times and they didn’t get back to me.”
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