Students in the riding of Ahuntsic-Cartierville who were too young to vote in past elections got a little taste of democracy on Wednesday as candidates gathered at the College Andre Grasset for a debate.
Representatives from four of the five parties running candidates in the riding showed up, with Conservative William Moughrabi the lone holdout.
"It's kind of new for me to be interested in politics,” said student Sandrine Desforges. “But I find it's really important to be, and being 18-years-old in, like, two weeks from now, I'm really lucky to be able to vote.”
The debate featured heated exchanges between incumbent Maria Mourani of the NDP and Liberal Melanie Joly.
Mourani, originally elected as a member of the Bloc Quebecois, faced criticism for switching parties but she fired back at Joly for promising to remain in municipal politics and then jumping into the federal fray anyway.
The attacks turned off a few students, who said they would have preferred the candidates focused on the issues.
“I wanted them to talk more about their parties and more about themselves,” said Kristina Rogojina. “I really thought they attacked too much on each other.”
