Get involved in Canadian Politics without Running for Office - Nick Clayton

If you’re disillusioned with politics in Canada and feel there’s nothing you can do about it, you probably don’t know about riding associations. There are well over 1,000 of them across the country, they shape who ends up on your ballot, and any Canadian can join one.

Nick Clayton has led the Simcoe Grey riding association for the Green Party for five years. He’s also a music teacher, a political TikToker and a social change advocate. He didn’t set out to lead anything. During an election, someone handed him a bag of bank statements and contracts and said, “You’re it now.” He said yes, and kept it from folding. In this episode, Nick and Gabby talk about:

What a riding association actually does, during elections and between them Why running a candidate matters even when you know you won’t win How his dad’s habit of showing up for the causes he believed in shaped his own Why face-to-face organizing is the antidote to online outrage What leading a 50-piece student band teaches you about politics and society The “middle tier” of politics: people who are tuned in, solutions-focused and just trying to get things done Running against an incumbent to put climate change on the agenda, and helping pass a climate emergency declaration in Collingwood How to start a riding association if your party doesn’t have one in your riding

If you care about something and want your actions to match what you believe, this conversation is for you. The Real Influencers of Canada is a show about the people quietly building the connections that hold our communities, and our democracy, together. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.