Third-year U of A student runs in 2025 federal election

People often ask political science students, “so, you want to go into politics?”

Often the answer is “probably not,” unless you ask Luke Markowski. Markowski is a third-year political science student at the University of Alberta. He is also the Liberal Party of Canada‘s candidate for Peace River–Westlock in the 2025 federal election.

Markowski wasn’t always in political science. He started out studying anthropology, but found that his interest in history aligned more with political science.

“I then shifted to political science, and I haven’t looked back,” Markowski said. “I do want to do stuff in the future with politics if I can — I really like it.”

With election day scheduled for April 28, the five-week campaign period has overlapped with final exams at the U of A. Running as a candidate — while being a student with finals and an executive in several clubs — has been tough, Markowski said, but the experience is “very valuable.”

“I think someone for the job should be representing all interests” Markowski says

Markowski said he’s connected to Peace River–Westlock through having family there. When asked why he’s the best person to represent Peace River–Westlock, Markowski said he thinks he’s “able to represent their interests and concerns when it comes to increasing people’s quality of life.”

The current Conservative Party of Canada (CPC) Member of Parliament (MP) for Peace River–Westlock is Arnold Viersen.

“From what I’ve heard, [Viersen] doesn’t really help the community as much and voice their genuine concerns in Ottawa. And I think someone for the job should be representing all interests, trying to make sure that everyone in their riding is getting their concerns heard. And I don’t think he’s doing that.”

Markowski cited a few issues that are important in this election. He mentioned United States (U.S.) President Donald Trump’s imposition of tariffs as a larger issue of focus in this election. But a focus for Markowski is increasing services in the Peace River–Westlock district.

“So something like hospitals, education, and transportation to help these rural communities [thrive]. There’s been a huge rural depopulation because services are not getting funded. People find that it’s easier to move to either a city or closer to a city to live,” Markowski explained. “I think that’s affecting a lot more communities than people realize.”

Viersen has held the Peace River–Westlock seat since 2015. When asked what he’d say to Conservative voters, Markowski asked, “who better to hear different opinions and to act the best according to the riding, than someone who has a lot more to gain from helping the community?”

He added that Viersen has been “collecting a government paycheck, being a back-bencher the whole time. I would say that I’m a better fit, and that [I believe] the Liberal Party is the correct decision in voting this election.”

Regardless of the outcome, Markowski said he’s excited to play Dwarf Fortress this summer and game with his siblings, use the time to get into painting, and occasionally ride his unicycle.