Local student returns from Ottawa after week of everything politics

By MO CRANKER on February 11, 2020.

mcranker@medicinehatnews.com@MHNmocranker

Local student Nicholas Samuelson recently returned from Ottawa where he took part in the Forum for Young Canadians.

Samuelson spent most of a week in Ottawa this month learning about Canada’s political system and meeting people with similar interests as he does.

“Every year there’s three sessions with 100 people each – they get to represent their city, their province and their school,” he said. “I flew out to Ottawa and over the course of the week you get to connect with and meet all of the other delegates from across Canada.

“We also got to meet MPs, senators and sometimes groups even get to meet the prime minister or governor general.”

The group started their days around 7 a.m. and finished around 10 p.m. every night. Samuelson says the days were fast paced and packed with learning.

“It was a full day of activities, every day,” he said. “We got to participate in political simulations, like an Elections Canada simulation where we made our own political party, developed a platform and chose our candidate. Over the course of the week we got to pursue that.

“We talked about the environment, trade and some other important topics in our world today.”

The group was able to visit the House of Commons and attend a question period, as well as going to the Senate.

“Seeing the government in session was a really cool experience,” he said. “Everything we did was a new learning experience for us.

“It was really interesting to see the roles that officials played and to see if they were elected or appointed.”

The Grade 11 Monsignor McCoy student is still deciding where he would like to go with his career, but can see himself entering politics one day.

“I’m deciding between multiple things for my career,” he said. “Politics was something I wanted to learn more about and I thought this would be a unique opportunity about politics.

“On top of that, I think making the connections with so many students from across the country is super important. It’s great to meet people with similar interests and goals.”

Samuelson says question period was the most influential part of the trip.

“Sitting up top and watching politicians gather beneath you to discuss and debate topics was great,” he said. “Everything we see in the media, I got to see first hand.

“Being that close to so many MPs isn’t an experience you can get anywhere else.”

He says he will continue to look into politics as a career.

“I’m for sure more interested in politics now,” he said. “Connecting with everyone really motivated me and seeing these things with my own eyes has made me want to continue to look into this as a career option.”

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