Jonah: Calgary Youth Politics Advocate

Tune in to episode 5 of our podcast to hear Jonah Smith's experience as Calgary's youngest mayoral candidate and as an active youth politics advocate.

"I'm a youth politics advocate. I ran for mayor of Calgary in 2025. I was the youngest mayoral candidate in the city's history, and hopefully I will be that again. I have until I'm 30. Right now I'm advocating for youth on a municipal level. I believe that it's the most important form of politics. I think that it is since it's so local, it's very easy to meet the people that are affecting you every single day on this level. And it's not just the mayor or city councillors, it's bureaucrats, it's city employees. These are all people that are part of the government and they are every day impacting your life. And I think it's very important for youth to be involved with that because this is not just a good start if you want to get into politics, but it's the most important start to get into politics."

In 2025 Michael ran for mayor of Calgary at only 18 years old, becoming the city's youngest mayoral candidate ever. That gave him the opportunity to speak to many Calgarians and learn how youth can participate in municipal politics. He is now a youth politics advocate, helping other young Calgarians to find ways to use their voices on a local level. Listen to the podcast to learn more about his organization, Calgary First, and how he is approaching political conversations.

For Jonah, getting involved in person and having the chance to meet people face-to-face has really transformed the political experience. “There's so much you can learn about an individual when you physically talk to them versus when you're just in a comment section. Because when you talk to people in person, you don't just go straight into, 'so who'd you vote for?' You get to know the individual. And I think that's the best thing about getting out and talking to people at political events.”