Four young MPs born in the 2000s say they want to be a voice for Canada’s youth

Liberal MPs, left to right in the foreground, Jake Sawatzky, Amandeep Sodhi, Tatiana Auguste and Fares Al Soud pose with Prime Minister Mark Carney in the House of Commons in Ottawa, in this undated handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout - Instagram, Amandeep Sodhi (Mandatory Credit)

OTTAWA — The spring federal election saw voters elect four MPs who were born in the 2000s — the first Canadians from that age cohort ever to take seats in the House of Commons.

Eight months into the job, the young MPs — representing ridings across the country — say they think they’re already making a difference.

Liberal MPs Fares Al Soud, Amandeep Sodhi, Jake Sawatzky and Tatiana Auguste were all born in either 2000 or 2001. While they had different reasons for getting involved in politics, they all share one common goal — to better represent young Canadians in federal politics.

Sodhi, the member of Parliament for Brampton Centre, told The Canadian Press that she’s had a lifelong passion for politics and began going to Liberal party events with her dad when she was around 11 years old.

While she said she expected to step into the role of MP “much, much” later in life, she couldn’t pass up the opportunity to run in her home riding in the last election.

“I really wanted to take this opportunity to run to make a change within our communities,” Sodhi said, citing the housing shortage, affordability, crime and the need to support youth and seniors.

Auguste became the MP for Terrebonne after winning by a single vote.

She said she first got involved in a youth caucus with her local municipality and later worked for MP Emmanuel Dubourg, who represented a Montreal area riding until last spring. Auguste said those experiences encouraged her to “be part of the change” she wants to see.

She said she and her younger colleagues offer a different perspective in a political climate still dominated by boomers and Gen X.

“If we put ourselves in a corner, I don’t think we’re going to go very far,” Auguste said. “I believe that we need to have a youth perspective in every issue that is on the table, and I think we’ve had a really great time doing that so far.

“I feel that we are starting to have an impact.”

Auguste — who already has sponsored a bill to establish a national flood and drought strategy — said she’s grateful to have colleagues from her own age group.

“Having three other members of Parliament that are 25 and under that can understand what I’m going through and can understand how we navigate this space that is quite frankly not made, in theory, for people like us, it’s great to have that support from them,” she said.

The four young MPs launched a Liberal “youth caucus” to encourage young people to participate in politics. Together, the MPs look to address issues like youth mental health, unemployment and the negative impacts of AI on young people.

Sodhi said the caucus has gained traction among Liberal MPs, many of whom are interested in mobilizing the youth vote in their own ridings.

“When we look at youth in particular, we see that sometimes they’re a little bit forgotten about,” Sodhi said. “We focus a lot on tariffs and the economy and building our country, but we don’t look at it from a youth lens and how that’s going to affect our youth.

“To be here in this position and to amplify and voice their concerns for them, it’s truly a very, a very powerful feeling.”

Sawatzky, the member of Parliament for New Westminster—Burnaby — Maillardville, said his entry into politics was “a bit unexpected.”

“I wasn’t intending to go into politics, at least until shortly before the election,” said Sawatzky, who has a background in neuroscience and was about to start a master’s degree in counselling psychology.

Sawatzky volunteered for the Liberal party for a couple years before the election and was told he would be a good candidate. Two weeks before the election, he was asked if he’d be interested in running.

“I figured, well, this is a great way to make an impact on a scale much larger than I would be able to as solely an individual,” said Sawatzky, who is passionate about mental health and addictions policy.

Sawatzky said he sometimes has a hard time wrapping his head around the fact that he’s an MP.

“You walk into the front doors, and it sometimes feels like it’s Hogwarts or something out of a movie,” Sawatzky said. “I’m very honoured to be to be given this opportunity and I am confident that I will make a positive impact.”

Sawatzky, who chairs the youth caucus, said it’s important that young people get involved in politics because it offers real opportunities to make a difference.

“If no young people run in politics, the problem there is there’s no youth representation,” he said.

“Now, of course, you can have older politicians create youth committees or focus on youth issues, but ultimately, I think to have true representation, you need to have elected officials that are actually a part of the group that decisions are being made for, in this case, young people.”

Al Soud, the member of Parliament for Mississauga Centre, said he got involved in politics in 2019 while he was in university. Al Soud, who has also worked as a political staffer, said that after voting for the first time, he was invited by his local MP to join a non-partisan youth council, where he worked on issues related to reconciliation and climate change.

Two years before the last federal election, he began mobilizing — driving from Ottawa to Mississauga every weekend to speak with people in the area.

“Young people in the world of politics is something that I’ve cited as one of the primary reasons why I decided to run and why I continue to be in this space,” Al Soud said. “It’s demonstrating to young Canadians that there is value in being in politics and that their voices are more than just a singular vote — they are truly intrinsically valuable in shaping policy and legislation.”

Al Soud said he’d like to see “as many young people as possible” enter politics.

“The House of Commons is meant to be representation of Canada. Canada has a lot of young people in it and so it’s important that they be represented in the House,” he said.

Catherine Morrison, The Canadian Press