University of Victoria student William Nelson is the Vancouver Island Party candidate for the new riding of Langford-Juan de Fuca.
Having grown up in the Comox and Thompson River valleys in an enviromentalist family, Nelson spent much of his young life travelling and working in South America and Australia. He also received a B.C. Institute of Technology scholarship in mining and exploration in 2007 and is studying at the University of Victoria for a geology degree.
But it was in his South America and Australia experience when he discovered his taste for politics.
“When I came back here, I saw how the Liberal government is profiting off the back of future generation, putting in absurd projects, it’s prepostorous,” Nelson said, adding he aims to bring a fresh perspective to the race.
Active politically since he was young, Nelson, 27, intends to be “an effective voice of the voiceless.”
“We are under-represented federally and provincially,” he said. “The predominant voting pattern here is NDP, so our current Liberal government doesn’t represent constituents on Vancouver Island very well.”
In his initial trips around the riding, especially around Port Renfrew, Jordan River and Sooke, he said he has received a good reception for the party’s ideas. The Vancouver Island Party’s stated aim is to see the Island become a separate province.
When asked about adressing Sooke’s issues, Nelson is certain why Sooke residents should vote for him on May 9.
“I’m not a politician. I’m a young, passionate, tree-planting, raft-guiding geology student who has big ideas. I have a plan to make this island energy-independent, as well as carbon-negative and cure hunger and homelessness here by 2025.”
The provincial election is May 9.