One member of The Journal’s editorial board is a QULA executive. They were not involved in the editing and reporting process of this story.
Ontario Liberal leadership candidate Navdeep Bains met with students at the Queen’s Pub for food and conversation about issues affecting university students.
Queen’s University Liberal Association (QULA) hosted the meet-and-greet with the Ontario Liberal Party (OLP) leadership candidate on Sept. 21, where students discussed issues including housing, affordability, mental health, and AI.
The event, which began at 5 p.m., was open to all Queen’s students. 10 students attended, the majority of whom were QULA members.
Bains is one of five candidates running to replace interim OLP leader John Fraser, alongside Stephanie Bowman, Lee Fairclough, Eric Lombardi, and Dylan Marando.
OLP members will vote online by ranked ballot from Nov. 9 to 20, with results announced on Nov. 21, according to the OLPwebsite.
Bains, a former federal MP who currently does not hold a seat in any parliament, previously served as Canada’s minister of innovation, science and industry from 2015 to 2021. He later served as chief corporate affairs officer at Rogers from May 2023 to May 2026.
In an interview with The Journal, Bains described how his campaign has included visiting university campuses across Ontario to meet and speak with the 16 Ontario Young Liberal Clubs.
He said conversations with students have focused on what he described as “economic anxieties,” including the cost of housing and groceries. He noted that one student he spoke with during his campus visits told him they had turned to a campus food bank because they could not afford groceries.
During the Queen’s event, Bains said students described their generation as “angry.”
He said he was inspired by students’ engagement with issues affecting their generation and their desire to become involved in addressing them.
Bains said young people he has spoken with are looking for political leaders and parties that focus on solutions rather than grievances.
“My value proposition has always been that if young people work hard, get good grades, and show up […] then we’ve got to make sure they have opportunities to succeed,” Bains said.
QULA President Ava Hatton, ArtSci ’27, said she appreciated that Bains asked questions and allowed students to contribute to the conversation.
She said she hopes students who attended see the event as an opportunity to become more involved with politics.
Hatton added that other OLP leadership candidates have also visited Queen’s to speak with students, including Eric Lombardi, who attended an event on Sept. 17.
Following the event, Bains said he would continue his university visits with McMaster University and the University of Toronto Mississauga.
Tags
Ontario Liberal Party, Ontario Young Liberals, Queen's University Liberal Association, The Queen's Pub
All final editorial decisions are made by the Editor(s) in Chief and/or the Managing Editor. Authors should not be contacted, targeted, or harassed under any circumstances. If you have any grievances with this article, please direct your comments to eic@queensjournal.ca.