19-year-old PC candidate has caused ripples
By
Christina Blizzard, Queen's Park Columnist
First posted: Thursday, November 10, 2016 07:40 PM EST | Updated: Thursday, November 10, 2016 08:57 PM EST
His upset win of the PC nomination in Niagara West-Glanbrook wasn’t quite on a par with Donald Trump’s takeover of the White House, but it certainly raised eyebrows.
He’s not quite an International Man of Mystery. But Sam Oosterhoff has certainly caused ripples in Queen’s Park, where pundits, critics and assorted hangers-on tend to drink each others’ bathwater and tut-tut over political minutiae. He’s an unknown quantity, who’s upset political rainmakers on many fronts.
1. He’s 19 years old.
2. He’s unapologetically a social conservative.
3. He was home-schooled (apparently a no-no).
4. He believes the Liberals didn’t consult enough on the new sex-ed curriculum.
After numerous requests for an interview, I finally caught up with Oosterhoff on Thursday.
His age isn’t something people care about, he said.
“A lot of people are excited to have a fresh perspective, someone who has unlimited energy, who’s going to be working very hard for them and consulting with them and listening to their concerns and their priorities,” Oosterhoff said.
“I’m surrounding myself with good people, experienced people and I’m focused on getting good advice going forward.”
But he did upset the PC applecart when he defeated leader Patrick Brown’s friend and former MP Rick Dykstra for the nomination. Is the party angry, I asked.
“Patrick’s got right behind me. He’s been really great,” Oosterhoff said.
“People respect the amount of work I put into the nomination and they respect that I did go out and knock on all those doors and sold the memberships and asked people to come and support me, and put forward a coherent policy.”
Press releases the Liberals have put out slamming him for his social conservative views are just an attempt to distract from the real issues — mismanagement of the economy, soaring hydro costs and cuts to health care, he said.
“This byelection is about sending Premier Wynne a strong message that we can do better and Niagarans deserve better,” Oosterhoff said.
“I’m not a one-issue conservative. I’m a comprehensive conservative, but I’m focused on making sure we have policies that reflect the reality that we live in a very diverse country and a very diverse province and we need to make life better for all Ontarians.”
The Liberals didn’t listen to parents on the sex-ed curriculum, he added.
“We need to make sure we have a curriculum that recognizes the reality of the world kids are growing up in and we need to make sure parents are included in that discussion.
“The Ontario Liberals have done a really bad job of listening to people’s concerns.”
Being home-schooled was a “wonderful experience,” but he says he has respect for the public school system — although he sees room for improvement.
“More than half of Grade 6 students failed their math exams, so that’s a worrying sign,” he noted.
And no, he doesn’t think he missed out on anything. His brother is a professor at Cambridge University in the U.K. and he went to Brock University with a sizeable scholarship.
He plans to put his studies on hold until January and continue with night classes and summer school.
Oosterhoff may be young. He’s also bright, articulate and intelligent.
I think he’s going to go a long way.
The byelection is Nov. 17.
CBlizzard@postmedia.com
19-year-old PC candidate has caused ripples | Blizzard | Ontario | News | Toront
