At age 20, Sam Oosterhoff is far and away the most experienced candidate running in the Ontario electoral district of Niagara West-Glanbrook.
The Progressive Conservative became the youngest MPP in the province’s history in 2016 after securing the nomination over future Ontario PC Party president Rick Dykstra, before comfortably defeating his NDP rival to win the seat for the Tories.
A look at Oosterhoff’s challengers for next month’s clear makes it apparent that youth is the order of the day in Niagara West-Glanbrook — Oosterhoff and his three major-party candidates have an average age of 21 years and three months.
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The youngest of the candidates is the Green Party‘s Jessica Tillmanns, who at 18 years old will be voting for the first time.
A bronze medalist in Ontario high school wrestling, Tillmanns is passionate about agriculture, affordable housing and health-care funding, and believes in cleantech innovation as a means of supporting small businesses, creating jobs and tackling climate change, according to her Facebook page.
“My candidacy is proof that youthful enthusiasm and inspiration has taken hold for the political future of Niagara West,” she wrote on Facebook.
READ MORE: Ontario Green Party platform focuses on energy conservation
NDP candidate Curtis Fric, 20, offers further proof of the abounding youthful enthusiasm in Niagara region politics.
The Brock University political science student’s Facebook page says he has worked in area retirement homes for years, and as a result has a first-hand understanding of the impact of long-term care cuts on seniors and their families.
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bi45i1lnbCB/?taken-by=curtisfricndp
Fric’s website states that he’s “passionate about social justice and meaningful, positive change.”
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At 27 years old, Liberal candidate Joe Kanee is the elder statesman of the bunch.
Alberta-born Kanee works as a director of operations for Body Love Inc., a gym and social club.
Kanee’s website attributes his passion for policy to his father, a longtime labour lawyer.
“From attending union rallies to campaign events to the nightly discussions at the dinner table, Joe was raised to be socially conscious and fiscally conservative and he brings that to the table as a nominee for provincial parliament,” his website states.
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The trio have a battle on their hands in trying to unseat Oosterhoff, who defeated his NDP rival by over 9,000 votes to win his legislature seat in a 2016 byelection.
Oosterhoff has served in two standing committees during his time as MPP, and has handled two critic portfolios, namely science and digital government. In November, he brought forward his first private member’s bill, the Compassionate Care Act, which calls for the creation of a provincewide framework devoted to hospice palliative care.
A homeschooling graduate and unabashed social conservative, Oosterhoff is pro-life, an opponent of same-sex marriage and a supporter of parental rights in education.
The election is scheduled for June 7.
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