On the phone with 20-year-old candidate Kyle Morton, District 10

Kyle Morton has a full course load. In his third year at Saint Mary’s University, Morton is studying finance, economics and computing information systems, with a minor in German. Outside of school, he’s getting a practical education in political science by running for the District 10 (Halifax–Bedford Basin West) seat on council.

“I want to do what I can to make sure Halifax is the place where I, and people like me, can make a life,” he says. If elected, he’ll be switching to part-time studies.

The first in his family to be born and raised in Clayton Park, Morton says he’ll use the skills he’s learned at school to make informed decisions on council. “Having a background in finance and economics has a fairly clear use, to actually be able to have a greater understanding of the problems that face us economically.”

He wants to work on increasing housing supply and affordability. “We need to have more options for the entire wide spectrum of people who want to make a life in Halifax,” he says. It bothers him that the transit system’s availability decreases the further you get away from downtown. “We need to make sure that it actually works for everyone, especially if we want to decrease the amount of traffic as the city grows.”

On policing, Morton wants to create a friendlier connection between the police and communities. “I want more people to actually know a police officer personally, build more connections. I think that’ll be helpful for dealing with crime.”

He says safety issues in schools and residential areas are important to him. “Making sure that especially in school zones, children can go around without having to worry about speeding cars potentially.”

Morton is also passionate about providing affordable daycare for children, in order to help women and single parents. “When more people can actually get into the workforce because they’re not spending all their days just taking care of their children, it ends up helping everyone, because it benefits the economy as a whole and benefits people.”

Becoming Halifax’s youngest councillor could set Morton up for a lengthy career in the position, but that isn’t his goal. “I’m not doing this as a comfy job to retire. I’m doing this because I really want to accomplish specific things,” he says. “Once I get these things done or once I run out of ideas, I’m going to go. I’m not going to stay for too long.”