A Carleton student moved from being a councillor for the Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) to being elected a city councillor in his hometown of Brockville late last month.
Cameron Wales, a Carleton public affairs and policy management student in his final year, has been elected to the Brockville City Council in this year’s municipal elections.
Wales is one of the city’s eight elected councillors, and received the second highest number of votes at 8.39 per cent in this year’s elections.
At 23 years old, Wales is Brockville’s youngest candidate.
He said he faced some pushback from members of the community who were concerned about his age and lack of experience. But, according to him, there are no barriers when entering politics.
“You don’t have to be any particular age to enter politics, it can be whenever,” he said.
Wales said he felt his variety of experiences in policy and decision-making, such as being a CUSA councillor make him an ideal candidate for the position of city councillor.
“Being a councillor was a big part in forming my perspective for a lot of the issues in my campaign,” he said.
Zameer Masjedee, former CUSA president who worked with Wales on the CUSA council, said he wasn’t surprised by Wales’ decision to run for city councillor.
“All the little intricacies of his role in being a CUSA councillor—he really put an effort into it,” he said.
“It’s an awesome thing for the civilians of Brockville, because he truly cares, and it speaks a lot about his character to not shy away from such a challenge.”
Masjedee said Wales was an inspiration during his time on CUSA’s council.
“He was one of those voices in the council room that a lot of other councillors—particularly the younger ones—looked to,” he said.
Wales’ campaign focused on four main goals: growth and stewardship of the community, achieving a diverse economy, addressing the declining population, and the environment.
He said he plans on working on these goals once he begins work.
“I would like to continue contributing to the community, one that I care deeply about,” he said.
Wales’ term will begin in December this year.
Photo by Temur Durrani
