Sabastian Koprich has made a name for himself in the Metis community for his work examining cardiovascular health in Metis people as the product of colonization during his time at Trent University. Sabastian received his undergrad degree n biology and continues to study public health and Indigenous health at the University of Toronto. During this PCMNO election, he hopes to add politician to his list of accomplishments.

After the former chairperson of the Metis Nation of Ontario’s Youth Council, Evan Accettola, is acclaimed as the next President of the MNOYC, Koprich is hoping to fill the empty seat.

It was Evan himself who inspired Sabastian Koprich to get involved in Metis politics after meeting at a Youth Leadership Conference. “Evan was the first person to come and say hi. He was so joyful. And it made me feel comfortable immediately,” says Koprich. Taking over Evan’s spot as chairperson would allow Koprich the chance to give back to his community the way it has given to him.

One of the issues he’s passionate about is community building. If elected as MNOYC Chairperson, Koprich hopes to provide more opportunities for Metis youth across the province to connect with one another. “We've got youth living all over the province. And I think we have this disconnect between regions,” says Koprich.

One of the ways Koprich hopes to provide these community building opportunities is to get the youth opportunities to connect on the land by having more harvesting workshops for youth across the province to come together and build community.

Voting for the PCMNO Youth Council runs from April 8 to May 6. Any Metis citizen between the ages of 16 to 29 is eligible to vote for Youth Council candidates.