A 22-year-old Master's student will represent the New Democrats in the riding of Chatham-Kent-Leamington in the next federal election.
Seamus Fleming is currently researching rural areas and farmers in politics at the University of Ottawa.
He says while he was not born or raised in the area, his family was affected by jobs leaving Leamington, and they followed suit. He states he still has extended family in the area.
Fleming he's running on affordability.
"I think it's really important that we talk about increasing the supply of housing, and making sure that grocery price gouging is really targeted from our consumer watchdog and competition act," he said.
He says he was a research intern in Parliament's health committee, researching topics such as breast cancer legislation, dental care and pharmacare.
"For breast cancer, we were bringing free mammograms to people," Fleming said. "Women at the age of 40, prior to that, I think it was only free if you were 50 or 45 years old. We're also making sure that it was accessible to rural women and women in small towns, just because it's a little bit harder to access those services."
Fleming is running against Conservative incumbent Dave Epp, with no candidates announced yet for the Liberals or Green Party in the riding.
He says politicians, in rural areas, are often relected without having to be held accountable.
"I mean I haven't seen many more jobs or opportunities or improvements being brought to Chatham-Kent-Leamington, and they just keep voting blue, so I think it's a great opportunity for this riding to make change," Fleming said.
According to Fleming, his Great Great Grandfather was the Mayor of Pelee Island.