Twenty-three-year-old Carleton grad Bruce Kyereh-Addo is seeking the Conservative party MP nomination in Ottawa-Centre.
Kyereh-Addo became a well-known figure at Carleton after his controversial disqualification as Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) president during the 2009 CUSA elections.
The road to becoming Ottawa-Centre MP is a long one. If Kyereh-Addo is to get there, he must first prove himself to the Conservative party as the best candidate to run in the Ottawa-Centre riding. Other individuals hoping to represent the party in Ottawa-Centre will also be seeking nomination. The candidate chosen to represent the Conservative party in a federal election will be decided by whoever gets the most votes on nomination day.
“It’s not an easy process,” he said, noting that it is essential is get his name out in the public to increase awareness of his bid for nomination.
Kyereh-Addo said he was considering a run for Ottawa-Centre MP even before his run for CUSA president, and now, especially with a federal election on the horizon, the time felt right.
“For me, it’s something I believe in at this time,” he said.
Kyereh-Addo whose Facebook page features a photograph of him with Stephen Harper, said he believes in the principles of the Conservative party and wants to bring the Ottawa-Centre riding to this party.
He said he doesn’t believe the current MP, the NDP’s Paul Dewar, sufficiently represents the student population. He said he thinks he would be able to represent all Ottawa-Centre constituents effectively, including students.
“In all the years I have been at Carleton, I have not seen the current MP come on campus and talk to students,” he said.
So far, he said he has been reaching out and speaking with students through Facebook and other social media outlets.
Dean Tester, a fourth-year journalism student and communications volunteer for Kyereh-Addo during his nomination bid, said he believes Kyereh-Addo is a strong candidate.
“I knew from the first time I shook his hand that this is a man who is going to go far,” he said. “When you meet him it is very hard not to be swayed by him regardless of your political affiliation. He is really a natural leader.”
At this point, Kyereh-Addo said he is planning on continuing his studies at Carleton in September, in order to keep in touch with student issues, and because he said Carleton is “like a second home” to him now.
Although he said by looking only at facts and statistics his chances of success are slim, he is, as his Twitter campaign page says, “in it to win it.”