The interesting thing about being a political candidate at 22 is not that people ask you questions about international affairs when they spot you at the bar but the fact that your age is the topic of every conversation.
Mumilaaq Qaqqaq, 25, was the youngest MP elected in the 2019 federal election for Nunavut. She recently tweeted "would you be asking the oldest MP how they feel about being the oldest MP?"
I have been reflecting on the experience a lot and thought if there are any other young women out there interested in running for office, I should share my experience with them.
I had the absolute honour of being the Green Party of Canada candidate for Cariboo-Prince George in the most recent federal election. We grew our portion of the vote by almost 170 per cent from 2015 and I couldn't be more grateful for every person who cast their vote for me.
I'm not sure that I've fully processed the experience yet, but I'll give it my best shot. If you want to be a candidate it's helpful to know a little bit about everything and ideally be able to communicate your position in 60 seconds or less. Although I was able to do this, it was frustrating because talking about solutions to missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls deserves far more than 60 seconds.
Here's the real secret though: I didn't know a little bit about everything before the election.
If we tell ourselves that we can only run if we are experts at everything, no one would ever do it.
You learn as you go, you get blindsided with questions about Huawei and Antifa, you stumble on your words, debrief in the car on the way home and are more prepared for next time. That's how it goes. You realize pretty quickly that even sitting politicians go through this and it makes everything OK.
I learned a lot about prioritizing my time and energy for those that deserve it and trying not to let those that are rude get to me. I learned how easy it is to get distracted by the little things and worry about things that are unimportant. Sometimes you get caught up on the social media numbers or the nasty emails but then you have dinner at your parent's house and try to explain to your younger siblings what you are running for again and everything is OK.
Some of the most memorable moments occurred after the main events themselves. After debates or meet and greets, people would come up to me and shake my hand (I shook a lot of hands) and say they are proud of me and agree with what I'm saying. The number of messages I received from people sharing that they have never voted Green before but were this time was incredible and made it all worthwhile.
When you're the candidate, you have to make sure you aren't just in a Green, or blue or red or orange bubble. You have to go outside your comfort zone and have great conversations with people you disagree with. There is always a place for your supporters and the people who just want to keep you going but there is almost nothing more important than taking constructive criticism seriously.
Regardless of your age, your opinions are valid and we need your voice in government at any level. Put your name forward, be ready to grow and take the leap.
It will change your life.
-- Mackenzie Kerr is a UNBC forestry student.
