Millennial candidate aims to tap into youth vote

He may be one of the younger candidates from Saskatchewan in the federal election, but Talon Regent believes his youthfulness gives him the advantage.

The 28-year-old Moose Jaw lawyer is running in his first election as the NDP candidate for the Moose Jaw–Lake Centre–Lanigan riding.

He believes millennials, who make up the largest voting bloc this election, are starting to realize how much power they have. Regent explained as a millennial, he’s able to connect on a much more personal basis with younger voters who may have been apathetic and not interested in voting in the past.

“I’ve been able to approach them, understand where they’re coming from, understand why they feel apathetic and connect with them and explain to them that, ‘Yes, you can make a difference. Your vote does count for something and you need to get out and vote,’ ” said Regent.

He believes his greater understanding of the technology he grew up around, including the use of social media and live-streaming, gives him the advantage to show off his personality while connecting with voters and sharing his views.

Regent has created what he called “zero-budget” campaign videos in an attempt to connect with people in a way that texts and photos don’t.

In one video, he compared party platforms with blocks of wood that he punches through. Another curling-themed video shows Regent using an orange rock representing NDP ideas knocking away three blue rocks.

The NDP candidate said he understands what kind of online content people respond to and not many candidates are doing what he does.

“A lot of politicians of every age very much feel as though they need to be cyborgs these days. They need to be constantly concerned about being judged by so many different people from so many different cultures and backgrounds and so they’re scared to have any sort of personality, scared to have any sort of humour involved for fear that it could lead to retribution,” said Regent.

He believes that as long as he remains respectful online, nobody is going to judge him.

“Seeing all of the pitfalls of politicians that have come before me on mediums like Twitter, I know what to avoid and I know to make sure to keep my thumbs disciplined when I’m deciding to tweet,” said Regent.

The lawyer also describes himself as an internationally acclaimed negotiator and a virtual reality tech entrepreneur. He is developing a VR trial simulator to give lawyers or members of the public an opportunity to practice how to conduct themselves during a trial.

Helping people is the reason Regent wants to become a politician.

“As a lawyer I can help people on individual issues. I can help person by person, but I’m tasked with carrying out laws that are implemented by politicians and I oftentimes see very easy changes that we can make to pieces of legislation that can have a major beneficial impact on Canadians as a whole,” he said.

Ironically, when he filed the papers to become a candidate, he wasn’t optimistic about the amount of help he would get once the writ was dropped. Since then, he says people are calling off the hook.

Regent said he’s learning just how prepared people are to approach him and offer their help.

“That’s something that I wasn’t sure was going to happen. I thought I might struggle a fair bit to get volunteers, to get people engaged because oftentimes we hear about how much apathy there is within the community, how low voter turnout rates are,” Regent said.

He’s by no means intimidated by running against Conservative incumbent Tom Lukiwski, who was first elected in 2004. Regent said he wouldn’t have entered the race if he didn’t believe he had a good chance of winning.

Neither is he concerned about name recognition as a first-time candidate. He said he’s already made a name for himself by being active in the Moose Jaw Chamber of Commerce and a volunteer with several organizations.

“That’s not because I thought that one day I might get into politics,” he said. “It’s because I genuinely want to be involved in making my community a better place. When you’re coming into it with that type of attitude, people notice.”

He said making the decision to enter politics was a tough one, especially considering he would be required to spend significant time away from his wife while in Ottawa. However, she was in full support, encouraging him to go for it, even becoming his official agent.

With less than a month to go until election day, Regent said the campaign has been a positive experience.

“I’m having a lot of fun,” he said. “I’m getting a lot of positive feedback from people in my community and it feels good to know that I’m making a real difference.”