The Ben Mulroney Show - I’m a Gen Z voter. Here’s why I’m voting Conservative—and why you Boomers should too

Episode Date: April 25, 2025

Seniru Ruwanpura, a software engineering graduate who will begin public policy or law school this Fall. He was a former elected member of the University of Calgary Students’ Union and executive vice-president of the UCalgary Conservatives, and one of Alberta’s Top 30 Under 30 for 2024. If you enjoyed the podcast, tell a friend! For more of the Ben Mulroney Show, subscribe to the podcast! https://globalnews.ca/national/program/the-ben-mulroney-show Follow Ben on Twitter/X at https://x.com/BenMulroney Enjoy  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Okay, flights on Air Canada. How about Prague? Ooh, Paris. Those gardens. Gardens. Um, Amsterdam. Tulip Festival. I see your festival and raise you a carnival in Venice. Or Bermuda has carnaval. Ooh, colorful. You want colorful. Thailand. Lantern Festival. Boom. Book it. Um, how did we get to Thailand from Prague?

Oh, right. Prague. Oh, boy. Choose from a world of destinations, if you can. Air Canada, nice travels. [♪ music playing, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no lyrics, no of time you've heard the reasons why I feel my vote has been earned by the conservatives. Every now and then I want you to hear from other people as to why they are voting one way or another. We're joined now by Senaru Ruampura from who is a software engineer graduate who will begin public policy or law school this fall, former elected member of the University of Calgary Students Union, executive president of UC Calgary Conservatives, and one of Alberta's top 30 under 30 for 2024. Senoroo wrote a piece in the hub.ca entitled I'm a Gen Z or Gen Z voter. Here's why

I'm voting conservative and why you boomers should too. Welcome to the show Senoroo. Thank you so much for having me, Ben. Appreciate it. Okay, so what was the thrust of your argument? By the way, great piece and really tackling it from a way that I thought was a fresh perspective. Yeah, thank you so much. I mean, I think the genesis of the article

was about the brain drain that Canada is really facing. I mean, I've had lots of conversations with friends and with other students that talk about how they really don't see a future in Canada anymore. Job opportunities are really hard to come by. Housing, of course, is super expensive. When they see opportunities elsewhere, obviously the US is an easy place just south of the border. And so I think that we need to change.

We need an economy that actually works for young people. And I think that was really the start of that article, essentially. Yeah. Well, the brain drain, that's an expression I haven't heard since the late 90s in Canada or mid 90s. But it's real, according to what you wrote in 2022, a net 42,000 more Canadians moved to the US largest surge in over a decade. And a study of STEM graduates from three of Canada's most competitive institution showed that within a decade of graduation, one in four work south of the border. So we train them. And then the Americans get to reap the reward.

Precisely. And I think now when when we're about how the US is threatening us with tariffs or whatever, I think there's been a lot of emphasis on this patriotism of elbows up and everything like that. And that's all great. But the reality is we need actual action. We can't just be reciting slogans or reciting things that sound good. We actually need a way to keep our talent here because otherwise, as you just said, we're funding a country that is now putting threats to Canada. We're helping them by actually allowing our best people to go across. And the same can be said about our doctors who are leaving for greener pastures

and bigger paychecks and more freedom. And so, and what's interesting about your pitch is, you know, typically when we talk about young people talking to boomers, they're saying, hey, you know, I haven't had a leg up, I need a leg up. But what your pitch is, is actually, if you want this country to succeed, you need to be investing in this young generation that is leaving to go to the United States.

Precisely. And I mean, I mean, it doesn't come from a point of resentment towards, towards seniors or towards older Canadians for being successful. Like, again, these are our parents, these are our grandparents, we want them to be in a point of success. But the reality is, I think they've been successful because Canada has allowed them that success in the past. You know, obviously, again, again, again, I'll keep mentioning it,

housing is much more affordable in the past, much more job opportunities there in the past. So, again, if we want Canada to be successful going forward, then it has to support young people, it has to show them that there is a path forward for us in this country. I think that this is why this election matters so much. I think after 10 years, we've seen things, I think progressively get worse.

I think it's quite unacceptable that a G7 country has the second worst record of GDP per capita in the developed world. And I think that new policy is needed that allows us to actually stimulate a more competitive economy, that allows businesses to invest here. And I think that's really critical.

Yeah, I will end with a paragraph that I think really sums it up. Well, Canada's brain drain is real driven by policy that has stifled opportunity and made us vulnerable to geopolitical pressure as more leave candidates innovation, innovation capacity and tax base shrink, making it hard to finance the policies that drive competitiveness. I would actually say as well, it makes it impossible or harder for us to pay for the social services that everyone should want from left to right. This is something that transcends politics. And Senor Roo, I wanna thank you very much for joining us.

I wanna thank you for adding a really vital perspective that I think has been overlooked in this campaign. The brain drain is real. You've highlighted it. It's on the hub.ca. I thank you very much for your time today. Thank you so much, Ben. Have a great day. Want to transform your space and your Sundays? Well, home network is giving you the chance to love your home with $15,000. There can only be one winner. Tune in to renovationovation Resort every Sunday

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