Andrea Oldham's goal was to put up a full slate of Green candidates in Alberta and she succeeded with a little help from herself. Oldham, 27, is the Prairies organizer for the Green Party of Canada.
Andrea Oldham's goal was to put up a full slate of Green candidates in Alberta and she succeeded with a little help from herself.
Oldham, 27, is the Prairies organizer for the Green Party of Canada. She is tasked with ensuring there is a representative in each of the country's 62 prairie ridings.
“Now that the party is getting bigger we are in a position where we can run candidates (in every riding),” she said. “We want to give everybody their voter options.”
It won't be long until she hits that target – there is one more spot to fill, and the paperwork, she said, is already underway.
After some difficulty finding a candidate in St. Albert-Edmonton, Oldham decided to put her name forward.
Currently living in Three Hills with her husband and red betta fish Lorenzo, Oldham said if elected she would share her time between Ottawa, southern Alberta and her new home in St. Albert-Edmonton.
“I think it's important to live in the riding that you represent,” she said.
Oldham joined the Green Party recently, but has prided herself on staying politically informed for years.
“As someone who has always had interest in (politics) it makes sense to get involved if you want to see anything change,” she said.
She chose to go Green because the party aligned with her values of social justice electoral reform and “restoring our international reputation.”
Oldham's political zeal also translates into her hobbies. An avid reader, she enjoys the political thrillers, especially those penned by Joel C. Rosenberg. She is also a big Netflix fan.
During her studies at Trinity Western University in Langley, B.C., Oldham led projects in San Francisco and Los Angeles working with inner-city homeless shelters and afterschool programs.
After completing her studies, she led a day camp for village children outside Odessa, Ukraine, with World Hope Canada and volunteered on two Habitat for Humanity projects in Prince Edward Island and New Orleans.
The exposure to a variety of cultures and demographics through these humanitarian experiences are invaluable as a potential MP said Oldham.
“Even in Alberta we've got a mix of people. And my constituents, if I'm elected, will be all different types of people, so having experience relating to other demographics and other cultures is a big asset,” she said.
If elected, Oldham would push for proportional representation – a system that allocates seats better reflecting the popular vote.
