THUNDER BAY – Colin Hunter plans to have a say in the upcoming city election.
The 21-year-old university student, not originally from Thunder Bay, said decisions made at the city table affect the cost of living in the city. The state of the current housing market being an issue that is of paramount concern for the student.
“The rent is really high right now,” he said. “I’m paying $800, with four people in my apartment, so $3,200 for a single unit. I wanted to see what any of their policies were about that.”
Hunter was one of a number of students taking advantage of an opportunity to meet candidates in the upcoming municipal election at a Tuesday afternoon open house hosted by the Lakehead University Student Union.
The open house was held in the university’s Agora and drew about 30 mayoral, at-large and ward contenders.
LUSU president Ian Kaufman said postsecondary students are as much a part of the community as anyone else.
“Students live in this community, whether they’re here for four years or like more than half of Lakehead students grew up here. A lot of us stay here afterwards,” Kaufman said.
“There are a lot of issues council deals with that are important specifically to students such as transit and housing. The city appoints one representative to the university’s board of governors and they vote on things like tuition and other issues.”
Alongside the city, the university has been taking measures to increase the voter turnout in the Oct. 27 election.
Besides the open house, that includes hosting an advance poll on the Lakehead campus on Thursday.
“Traditionally young people and students don’t vote in municipal elections. Youth voter turnout has been low,” Kaufman said. “We’re trying to drive home why elections are important.”
Ian Friesen, who is in his first year attending Lakehead from Emo, attended the gathering to familiarize himself with those running and get a feel for the issues facing the electorate.
He said he is now more likely to vote than if he did not get a chance to speak with some of the candidates, once he decides who best represents what action he wants to see taken at city hall.
“I have to figure out who I want to support first,” Friesen said. “I want to empower a councillor or somebody who can make change.”
