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When he won the nomination for the NDP in Kelowna-Lake Country, Justin Kulik was a 17-year-old high school senior. Now he's 18, and juggling studies at UBCO with running an election campaign.
Kulik said his classmates liked the idea of one of their own running in a federal election. "It was wonderful to see students come and say 'Wow', finally I have someone who represents my beliefs," he said.
He's glad to be a part of a surge in interest in politics among people.
"A lot of those that I know at least are saying 'This is our chance to recognize our rights and this is our chance to influence the next four years, let's take it,'" said Kulik.
He has been involved in debating and public speaking and said it's served him well during the all-candidates debates.
"I do my homework so to speak," Kulik said with a chuckle. "I go into forums prepared, not just knowing how I stand, but how those around me stand." He is campaigning while pursuing studies at UBCO but said he's managing.
"I'm good at juggling," he added.
And the campaigning doesn't feel like work to him. "I connect with as many people as I can, and not just students," said Kulik. and he likes the door-knocking part.
A key issue for him is food waste. He recently started a Change.org campaign aimed at reducing the amount of good food that gets wasted by grocery stores. "Right now, there are four million Canadians living in food insecurity," notes Kulik. "One and a half million of those are children. But billions upon billions of dollars worth of food products are discarded to landfills each year."
The effort picked up a quarter of a million signatures.
He's hoping some of that kind of support will be there on voting day, October 21.
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