WARREN WANTS TO END BICKERING ON OLD PARTY LINES AND BRING NEW SOLUTIONS TO AFFORDABILITY AND THE CLIMATE CRISIS
Following the resignation of Merrilee Fullerton in late March, the provincial riding of Kanata-Carleton is heading to a by-election. Following an MPP’s resignation, a by-election is called by the province’s Premier and must take place within six months; on June 28, the by-election was called and a date of July 27 was set.
University of Ottawa student Steven Warren was the Green Party of Ontario’s candidate for West-Nepean during the 2022 provincial election, and he is running again this fall for the Kanata-Carleton riding.
At the time of this interview, all three of the province’s major parties had announced candidates: the Ontario Liberal Party (OLP), the Ontario Progressive Conservatives (PC) and Ontario New Democratic Party (NDP). The Green Party of Ontario’s Candidate spoke with the Fulcrum to answer the same questions as McCrimmon, Coenraad, and Stiles. The Fulcrum is still waiting to hear back from the Ontario PC candidate.
The Fulcrum spoke with Warren to hear why he believes students living in Kanata-Carleton should vote for the GPO in this by-election. The interview has been lightly edited for clarity.
The Fulcrum (F): Could you please tell me just a bit about your background and what experience you’d be bringing to the role of MPP?
Steven Warren (SW): I’m Steven Warren, I’m 19 years old. I’m a student here at the University of Ottawa, and it’s my third year this September. I’m the son of two amazing working-class parents. My father is a retired auto worker of 31 years, my mother works as a healthcare worker at Queensway Carleton Hospital. I’m majoring in political science, minor in criminology.
The experience I bring is that I’m a young person who faces the issues that many Kanata-Carleton residents are struggling with. And I will always be a strong advocate for residents at the table.
F: Thank you. And what did you see in the Green Party in particular that made you want to put yourself forward as a candidate in the riding?
SW: Well, yeah, at the Ontario Greens, we present the real solution for the many crises that Ontarians are facing, and the old-line parties –they’re not presenting the solutions that we need. We are strong advocates for our environment. Let’s be real here, we are living in a climate crisis and we need to take action immediately.
We present solutions that ensure that taxpayers won’t get taxed crazy while ensuring our public services will be fully funded. We are huge supporters of fiscal responsibility. We will always stand up for the public sector. And ultimately, while the other parties are going to bicker and fight, we want to get the job done.
F: So my next question is why do you believe constituents in Kanata-Carleton should vote for you to represent them? And then provincially what are some issues that you believe those residents in your riding would want you to advocate for?
SW: I’ve had many conversations in Kanata-Carleton. I’ve talked to many voters and for Kanata-Carleton residents, times are pretty tough right now. Healthcare is being privatized, [and] the cost of living is insane. The Ford government is just taxing us and they’re not even spending it. This province is sitting on $22 billion dollars in unused funds. All the while healthcare workers are walking off the job, they’re taking extra shifts, and Ontarians can’t get public health care.
Transportation is in shambles. You know, I talked to many students who live in Kanata-Carleton because they just can’t find housing here on campus. They tell me stories about how they can’t find transit that’s reliable on time to campus. They’re leaving two, three hours early to get to class– sometimes they even miss class.
It’s unfortunate that our provincial government just isn’t acting in the interest of Kanata-Carleton residents. It’s about time that we elected an MPP who doesn’t come from a political family, who comes from a real working-class family, who understands the issues because he has real lived experience.
F: Just to touch a bit more on your experiences speaking with students since you are a student yourself. From that perspective, how do you feel your peers in university stand to benefit from the party’s platform?
SW: Well, let’s be real here, the best advocate for students are students themselves. Someone who knows that right now, times are very challenging for students. Tuition payments keep going up, and we can’t afford to make those payments. You know, Doug Ford cut Ontario Student Assistance Program (OSAP) – Doug Ford cut my OSAP! Many of us, we can’t make the bills, rent keeps going up. We can’t get housing and transit is a joke in this city. It’s about time that we get a student to advocate for the interests of students. And really the only person who can do that is a student.
In Ontario Greens, we present new solutions. We believe that students shouldn’t be paying out of pocket insane for tuition. We really strongly believe in publicly-funded universities so that everyone, regardless of their background, can attend post-secondary, and get that education they need to be successful in their careers.
F: In the 2022, General Ontario election, the Green Party received 5.5 per cent of the vote in the Kanata–Carleton writing. So why do you and your party believe it’s valuable to have a candidate in this race?
SW: We believe it’s valuable to have a Green Party candidate in Kanata-Carleton because as I’ve said, the Ontario Greens, we present the real solution, the old-line parties are going to keep bickering. The Liberals will present half solutions, the NDP will not present realistic plans, and the Conservatives as we’ve seen, they’ve been neglecting our community.
We need real change. And the only change we’re going to get is if we vote for a new party that’s presenting real solutions. The Ontario Greens, Mike Schreiner, my friend, is doing great work. We only have one MPP in the legislature, but we’ve advanced two bills– we’ve made real change. Mike Schreiner is a strong advocate in Queen’s Park and I actually look forward to working with him.
F: Okay, awesome. Thanks so much. And then as a student, how do you feel like you’ll be able to balance your student responsibilities and also being an MPP for your riding?
SW: Well, I’ll make it very clear– Kanata-Carleton residents come first and if elected, I will always put the interests of Kanata-Carleton constituents, I will always put my role as an MPP first before my education. I strongly believe that Kanata-Carleton residents need an MPP who will be devoted to them. And if that means I have to pull back from my studies, I am more than prepared to do that– if it means I can be a strong advocate for Kanata-Carleton.
F: Awesome. I wanted to give you the opportunity to put out anything else that you wanted to tell us, particularly towards U of O students or university students as a whole about your platform, what you’re advocating for, and why they should vote for you in general.
SW: Yeah, well, I first want to mention that advanced polls have opened today. So if you’re a Kanata-Carleton student, please make sure to go vote. If you can’t make it for advanced polls, July 27th is election day. And well, let’s be honest, this is a by-election. So no matter what happens, no matter who wins, Doug Ford will still be Premier.
This is an opportunity to send a message. We don’t have to worry about vote planning as we had in the last election. This by-election is a real opportunity where we can send a message to the MPPs at Queen’s Park and enough is enough. It’s time for real action. On July 27, you can vote Green worry-free about splitting.
