Candidate Spotlight: Brad McKinney

A busy banker and barber in St. Stephen wants to add a politician to his resume.

Thirty-one-year-old Brad McKinney is the provincial NDP candidate in Saint Croix.

He said the lockdown shows the important role essential workers play and he thinks the provincial minimum wage should be increased.

“We need universal pharmacare so our parents and grandparents can afford to live comfortably,” McKinney said.

The new business owner understands the New Brunswick NDP is rebuilding and he is not bothered by the fact it doesn’t have a full slate of candidates in this election.

“Quality over quantity. I’m very glad we have 33 very strong candidates. I have talked to most of them. They all seem very confident. They all seem very young and very eager,” McKinney said.

McKinney believes he is the youngest candidate to ever run in the riding of Saint Croix.

“There’s a call for change in New Brunswick and especially here in Saint Croix. We have just been going red and blue over and over again for 150 years, I believe. There is a want for something new,” McKinney said.

In July, McKinney opened a barbershop in St. Stephen.

He said he can empathize with the struggles of small business owners especially right now.