PEICharlottetown’s youth engagement committee wants to hear from more young people, especially those in their early twenties.Group hopes to attract more young people, especially those in their early twentiesThinh Nguyen · CBC News · Posted: Dec 04, 2025 12:14 PM EST | Last Updated: 4 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 3 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.Max MacDonald serves as the chair of Charlottetown’s youth engagement committee, which currently has five members. (Thinh Nguyen/CBC)Charlottetown’s youth engagement committee wants to hear from more young people, especially those in their early twenties.The committee advocates for youth in the city and makes recommendations to city council. Anyone between the ages of 15 and 30 can join.But chair Max MacDonald said most members are closer to the upper end of that range.He said it’s especially important for younger voices to get involved, because they’re often left out of political conversations.“I think that young people are just too busy to advocate the government on their own behalf a lot of the time, especially in the municipal government,” MacDonald told CBC’s Island Morning.“Between our three levels of government here in Canada, I think that municipally, it’s the one that gets the least attention from young people, but [it’s] also the one that might impact their lives the most.”The committee currently has five members. MacDonald said some of the newer ones are closer to the age group they’re hoping to attract — people in their early twenties who are engaged in local politics.LISTEN | Charlottetown sets up youth engagement committee:Island Morning8:17Charlottetown sets up youth engagement committeeThe City of Charlottetown has set up a youth engagement committee to advocate for and connect with young people. Max MacDonald, the committee’s chair, joins us to talk more about it.Those interested in learning more can keep an eye on the City of Charlottetown’s social media channels. MacDonald said they will soon post details about upcoming events, along with information on how to join the committee’s email list.‘I have a lot of hopes for the city’MacDonald said the committee can help young people push for changes — even small ones — that can make a real difference in the city, especially around issues they care about, like infrastructure.For example, as someone who bikes year-round, he noticed that city buses removed their bike racks for the winter. After talking with other residents and community groups who wanted the racks to stay, he raised the issue with the city.After noticing the bike racks were taken off city buses during the winter months, and talking with others who wanted them to stay, MacDonald raised the issue with the city. That led to a trial run last year where the racks remained on the buses all winter. (Julien Lecacheur/Radio-Canada)As a result, last year Charlottetown ran a trial where the racks remained in place all winter, and MacDonald said the city may repeat that if there’s interest.“I have a lot of hopes for the city in the future in terms of implementation of different sorts of infrastructure,” he said.The committee has also been involved in issues related to accessibility, he said.Last winter, members heard from parents at one of their events about the need for more accessible indoor spaces for families during the colder months — like a gym.The committee then recommended offering free gym hours at the West Royalty Community Centre to city council.“The city thought it was a great idea, and we did it, and we had some great feedback from people. They’re really, really successful, and we’re going to do them again this year,” he said.Looking ahead, the group plans to hold more events to meet with young people and hear directly from them.With files from Island Morning
Charlottetown youth committee wants more voices at the table
