Seeing the municipal election candidates through the eyes of teenagers
Posted Aug 21, 2026 01:34:45 PM.
Last Updated Aug 31, 2026 04:35:20 PM.
Even though they’re two years shy of voting themself, Hue Hetherington is deeply involved in understanding and discussing municipal politics.
The 16-year-old is hosting a podcast on the upcoming election for CKCU, Ottawa’s independent radio station. The idea came through a project that CKCU does that encourages youth to get involved in radio.
“I speak to my peers a lot about municipal politics, and municipal issues, and on the federal and provincial level,” they said. “They have lots of concerns of course, and they voice their concerns but a lot of them say, ‘Well I can’t vote.'”
Hetherington’s podcast is aimed at discussing how municipal politics impact high schoolers and getting them ready to make decisions later. While also giving want-to-be city councillors a better idea of what the youth of today want.
“What I love about a podcast is that it’s more than just telling youth to vote, it’s letting them know what the options are, including voting, as well as beyond voting,” Selali Ayitey Wallace, the podcast producer at CKCU, said. “There are a lot of things young people can do even before they reach voting age about the changes they would like to see in their city.”
She believes that the podcast could spur optimism in youth who are feeling like they can’t change things they don’t like in their city.
What’s special about this project is that it shows adults who the candidates are through the eyes of youth.
Lia Kiessling, CKCU’s station director, said the show allows for an honest conversation, with no manipulation or bias, on how youth perceive politics and what they care about.
“It’s real questions and a real discussion between the candidates and a high schooler today…And they get to know each other on a real level,” she said.
Hertherington says they feel an immense privilege in serving their community with the podcast.
“It allows me to get more engaged with politics, educate myself about politics while also answering questions I have and my peers have all the time,” they said.
The episodes will start airing on the CKCU website on Sept. 7.
Nomination period for the election close Aug. 21 at 2:00 p.m.
