Here's what P.E.I.'s students are thinking about ahead of municipal elections

Students here at UPEI are taking in what each of Charlottetown's mayoral candidates have to say. The school student union put on a mayoral mixer. Organizers want to empower more students to get involved in municipal politics. They're part of the community, they're part of the city, and they have a very low turnout when it comes to politicians and when it comes to elections. That's why we're trying to organize events like this to make sure that they can see how they can get involved and they can see that their voices matter. Each of the city's seven mayoral candidates took the stage to outline what their priorities are. Then, students had a chance to voice theirs. Issues with bike lanes, you know, bike lanes is kind of ending in the middle of the street. Definitely access to different roads or areas of town in biking is very difficult. Students are always talking about affordability, about increases, about food insecurity, transportation. Those are the topics that students have been talking over and over again towards all the surveys that I'm doing. Many students who took part in the event were international students and unable to vote, but still wanted to have their voices heard. It's still important to know that an ex-candidate is going to advocate for affordability or have the reassurance that living in this province and actively taking part of different aspects of the community here, my voice is still being heard. For other UPEI students, it's a similar story. Cost of living, better bus routes, and parking are among their main concerns. Whenever I finish school, I want, I'm going to stay home for a bit, but I want to move out because I want to have that opportunity. And the price of housing right now, even for my family, is insane. Meanwhile, at Holland College, many students I spoke with aren't so sure whether they plan to vote or if they're even eligible. But those who are say they'd like to see more young people get involved. The responsibility falls on us to make a difference because we are going to be the people that are in those positions in the near future. So we are going to have to care about it. Students eligible to vote must be a Canadian citizen, at least 18 years old, and must have lived on PEI for at least six months. Anyone who is eligible to vote can check their voter registration on the Elections PEI website. Cameron Farquharson, CBC News, Charlottetown. Thank you.