'Community isn’t just shaped by the adults': Oakville teen running for mayor
For 19-year-old Jack Kukolic, Monday will be the first municipal election in which he's able to cast a ballot.
It will also be the first time the Oakville teen has ever voted for himself.
Kukolic is running for mayor of Oakville, and if elected, he would be the youngest mayor in the province – but notoriety isn’t what inspired him to run.
“I ran because I saw that in the last municipal election only 37 per cent of eligible Oakville voters voted,” Kukolic told CTV News, “and 82 per cent of those [eligible voters] 18-25 did not vote.”
Along with the issues, Kukolic’s campaign has attempted to draw attention to the election itself, through a series of TikTok videos. In them, the teen explains everything from how to run to how to vote.
“I think having a younger candidate running lets them see that politics is not just this big scary thing that you see on the news – it’s an important process that you can get involved in.”
Kukolic is one of three candidates running to be mayor in Oakville. For the other two, it’s a rematch of the 2018 campaign with business leader Julia Hanna running against the incumbent Rob Burton.
Speaking to voters in Oakville’s downtown, Kukolic is offered best wishes by a number of voters, some of whom have already cast their ballot.
“It’s been really surprising,” Kukolic said, “I’ve had a lot of adults come and tell me that they are in involved in politics but are interested in the federal and provincial level – they vote in the federal and provincial levels but up until this point they’ve kind of just ignored the municipal level.”
The Sheridan College student, who runs his own photography/videography company, says he hopes voter turnout will be higher on Monday than it was in the last municipal election.
He also says, win or lose, this is just the beginning of his involvement with the city he calls home.
“This community isn’t just shaped by the adults, it's shaped by everyone and as I always say elections are for everyone, so I want everyone to go out and make an informed choice and just have a voice in their community.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Canada Disability Benefit needs to safeguarded from clawbacks, MPs unanimously agree
The federal government needs to safeguard the incoming Canada Disability Benefit from clawbacks and do more to ensure it actually meets the stated aim of lifting people living with disabilities out of poverty, MPs from all parties agree.
BREAKING Security guard shot, seriously injured outside of Drake's Toronto mansion
A security guard working at Drake’s Bridle Path mansion in Toronto was seriously injured in a shooting outside the residence early Tuesday morning, police said.
King Charles too busy to see son Prince Harry during U.K. trip
Prince Harry will not be seeing his father King Charles during his current visit to Britain as the monarch will be too busy, Harry's spokesperson said on Tuesday.
opinion Tom Mulcair: Turfing Poilievre from House a clear sign of desperation by Trudeau Liberals
When Speaker Greg Fergus tossed out Pierre Poilievre from the House last week, "those of us who have experience as parliamentarians simply couldn't believe our eyes," writes former NDP leader Tom Mulcair in his column for CTVNews.ca
Your body needs these three forms of movement every week
Movement is movement, right? Not exactly. Here’s what your body is looking for in addition to your morning walk or yoga session, according to experts.
Six Canadian children repatriated from detention in Syria, Global Affairs Canada says
The Global Affairs Department says six Canadian children have been repatriated from detention in northeastern Syria.
'It looked so legit': Ontario man pays $7,700 for luxury villa found on Booking.com, but the listing was fake
An Ontario man says he paid more than $7,700 for a luxury villa he found on a popular travel website -- but the listing was fake.
Quebec to limit sperm donations per donor after 3 men from same family father hundreds of children
Quebec is looking at tightening the regulations around sperm donation in the province following the release of a documentary that revealed three men from the same family fathered hundreds of children.
Canadian cadets rock mullets and place second at U.S. military competition
Sporting mullets, Canadian Armed Forces officer cadets placed second in an annual military skills competition in the U.S.