When I was in Chile last year, I walked into an elementary school art class and saw a phrase on the wall that stopped me in my tracks: “Ser joven y no revolucionario es una contradicción de la biología.” To be young and not a revolutionary is a contradiction of biology.
It hit me because here in Sarnia-Lambton, that contradiction is the rule, not the exception. The status quo is cemented, held together by decades of the same old political faces, the same old priorities, the same old resistance to change. Mike Bradley has been mayor for 35 years. Voter turnout skews older. Election after election, the safest bet is that nothing will fundamentally shift. And young people—who should be the ones fighting hardest for a future—aren’t even showing up.
We know why. The system isn’t built for them. Sarnia has no real reason to prioritize young voices because young voices don’t hold electoral weight. Those in power cater to the ones who reliably vote—homeowners, retirees, people who feel more threatened by change than by stagnation. So we get a city designed for yesterday’s needs while tomorrow’s leaders are told to wait their turn.
What’s the cost of that apathy? Look at housing. Older voters, overwhelmingly, own homes. That means council drags its feet on density, zoning reform, and new housing solutions, because keeping property values high is a more pressing concern than giving young people a place to live. Public transit? No real investment there, because the ones voting aren’t the ones taking the bus. And what do our leaders actually spend their time and energy debating? Keeping an empty airport on life support instead of solving the kinds of problems that might make young people want to stay here in the first place.
Other cities have figured this out. Peterborough used to be a stagnant manufacturing town; now it’s investing in tech, transit, and housing. Moncton turned itself around by focusing on young entrepreneurs and making it a city where people want to stay. Guelph has embraced density, livability, and public spaces that cater to all generations. These aren’t radical ideas. They’re just the natural outcome of a political landscape where young people actually matter.
So why doesn’t that happen here? Why have young people resigned themselves to apathy? Is it that they don’t care, or have they just learned that their energy and hope have nowhere to go?
Because that’s the thing—when young people do try, they’re often met with a brick wall. Run for office? You’ll be told you lack experience. Push for change? You’ll be told you don’t understand how things work. Show up? You’ll be drowned out by people who have spent decades learning how to hold on to power while making sure no one new gets a seat at the table.
At some point, the old guard will leave. But by then, will there be anything left for the young to rebuild?
I don’t believe Sarnia’s future has to be written by the same people who wrote its past. But young people have to decide if they’re willing to fight for it. And if they aren’t—if they keep handing their future over to people who don’t share it—then they’ll have no one to blame but themselves when they wake up one day and realize this city left them behind.
Disclaimer: Nathan Colquhoun is the owner of The Sarnia Journal and a regular columnist. He is also running as an independent candidate for MPP in Sarnia-Lambton. His views are his own.