The Young Liberals of Canada is the country’s largest political organization with an estimated 70,000 members. The University of Saskatchewan Young Liberals club has recently begun to contribute to this number.

Created in the fall of 2014, the U of S Young Liberals promotes the perspectives, policies and ideas of Liberal voters on campus.

“The Young Liberals is the youth arm of the national Liberal party,” said the club’s president, Dylan Robertson. “It’s the body which represents the opinions of Liberals under the age of 25.”

Robertson, now in his fourth year of political studies, said the club’s membership is only open to U of S students, though students don’t need to be Liberal-minded to join.

“Although we’re interested in promoting the Liberal message, our secondary goal is to get more people involved in politics and making educated decisions about politics,” said Robertson.

The club does not currently have any non-Liberals within its ranks. That’s not to say, however, that all members of the club see eye to eye on issues.

“We have some people who are anti-union, we have some people who are anti-gun laws. It’s a very wide group,” Robertson said. “We don’t necessarily agree with everything the national Liberal party does.”

Every Monday, the club’s 30 members meet in the Campus Club Space located in upper Place Riel. The hour-long meetings consist of a non-partisan discussion where “any student of any political ideology can come and talk about politics.”

The group plans to host a panel discussion sometime in the second term.

On Facebook, the group’s name is “University of Saskatchewan Federal Liberals” but will soon change to “University of Saskatchewan Young Liberals” in accordance with the guidelines of the YLC. Robertson, who does not support the Liberals provincially, says the group will continue to have a federal focus.

Formally constituted in the 1930s, the YLC has chapters at most Canadian universities. There are provincial and territorial organizations which administer themselves according to their own constitutions and bylaws, as well as the national executive which runs the affairs of the entire YLC.

Prominent Young Liberals who have gone on to achieve elected office include Jean Chrétien, Paul Martin, Christy Clark and Michael Ignatieff.

“Stephen Harper used to be a member of the Young Liberals,” said Robertson. “It’s how he got his start in politics.”

Robertson says he started the club to address a “lack of political clubs on campus.”

“We want to get involved and promote political discussion,” said Robertson. “Everyone always says the youth voice doesn’t matter, and that’s completely untrue. The youth on campus can play a definite role in shaping policy.”

The ultimate goal of the club, said Robertson, is to raise awareness among students about the democratic process.

“It’s a great way for students to educate themselves about one of the major political parties in Canada and educate themselves about how youth can affect the policies in Canada.”

Students wanting more information on the U of S Young Liberals can visit the club’s Facebook page or email the group’s organizers at usaskyoungliberals@gmail.com.

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Photo: Katherine Fedoroff/Photo Editor