Just one year after gaining voting legality, Brock University student Sam Oosterhoff is a contender for Member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) at 19-years-old.
Oosterhoff has secured the Progressive Conservative (PC) candidate position in the riding of Niagara West-Glanbrook, beating out PC party president Rick Dykstra, 50, in the process, according to multiple news outlets.
Now, Oosterhoff said he will try for a spot at Queen’s Park, facing off against Liberal candidate Vicky Ringuette, 37, and the New Democratic Party’s (NDP) Mike Thomas, 56, in a byelection set for Nov. 17.
If he wins, Oosterhoff will break a longstanding record and become the youngest MPP in Ontario. The previous record was set by Reid Scott, a Co-operative Commonwealth Federation MPP who won the Toronto Beaches riding in 1948 at the age of 21.
The byelection is a result of former Ontario PC leader Tim Hudak’s departure from politics to join the Ontario Real Estate Association. Hudak had represented the riding, Niagara West-Glanbrook, since its creation in 2007.
Brandon Purcell, a fifth-year political science student at Carleton University, said he is a good friend of Oosterhoff’s. Purcell said the two worked together this summer on Parliament Hill, and that he is currently seeking a PC provincial nomination of his own in the Carleton riding. Purcell said the reception to his plan to run in the riding, despite his young age, has mostly been positive.
“You do get people who have that [negative] viewpoint. I have certainly encountered people like that when I’ve been out going door to door,” Purcell said. “But overwhelmingly they like seeing young people.”
“They ask how old you are and you tell them and they get a big smile on their face and say, ‘Oh dear, I must be getting old.’ I imagine he would have been experiencing similar sentiments on both sides,” he added.
Oosterhoff’s recognition has certainly skyrocketed since capturing the nomination, in contrast to a recent byelection preview from television station CHCH in Hamilton that did not mention his name as one of the likely PC candidates.
Carleton public affairs and policy management student Graham Pedregosa said he thinks Oosterhoff will benefit from the Conservatives’ recent surge in popularity, especially with current Premier Kathleen Wynne at a record-low 20 per cent approval rating.
“He also has the support on that the riding is historically Conservative, so you have the incumbency advantage,” Pedregosa said. “It’s that recognition that gives him a shot at it for sure.”
However, it’s unclear how residents in the riding will respond on voting day to a youthful candidate, especially since Oosterhoff is completing post-secondary studies.
Similar cases have happened recently on the federal level.
In the 2011 election, Quebec appointed 59 rookie politicians into office. A group of MPs dubbed the “McGill Four” entered politics straight out of university, and 19-year-old Pierre-Luc Dusseault of the Université de Sherbrooke became the youngest MP ever in Canada’s history.
Of the “McGill Four,” only Dusseault and Matthew Dubé retained their seats in 2015.
Pedregosa said combining schooling and serving as an MPP would be difficult for Oosterhoff.
“If I was him I definitely wouldn’t say it’s not possible for me to do it, but I wouldn’t do the school though,” Pedregosa said. “You might be a young guy running, but if people really see the hard work you’re putting in, there’s a very good chance for him to win it.”
Oosterhoff could not be reached for comment.
