- by Ryan Brown

This weekend, for the first time in my life, I voted.

It was important to me that I got it right. I’ve learned about elections in and out of school for years, I hear about the importance of voting all the time, and I know the impact young people can have if they go to the polls. So, I knew I had to make the right choice.

Luckily for me, one local candidate made that pretty easy.

Michael Den Tandt is the first person I’ve cast a ballot for, and I’m proud to say it. He cares about the issues that matter to me, he is a progressive and socially thoughtful candidate, and he’s in it for the right reasons. He’s running to build on the most progressive government in Canadian history while still being incredibly grounded in Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound’s community. He’s the MP our riding deserves.

Michael is intelligent - many readers may know this as he’s been spending countless hours knocking on thousands of doors across the riding. He knows what the issues of this election are, and he’s thoughtful and reasonable in his responses to them. He’s knowledgeable about plenty of things, but his experience working on NAFTA in the Prime Minister’s office sets him apart from other candidates.

He’s also an amazingly hard-worker, and not just in this election. He’s demonstrably committed to Bruce-Grey-Owen Sound and its people.

Having just moved to Montreal for university, I’m unable to work on his campaign or knock on doors with him. Instead, I decided to write this because I genuinely believe in him and what he can do for my home riding. I’ve watched the local debates from afar and it’s become clearer and clearer to me that Michael should be our next MP.