Recent U of A graduate, Jeremy Hoefsloot running in Edmonton Gateway

On April 13, Jeremy Hoefsloot launched his campaign as the Liberal Party’s candidate for Edmonton Gateway. Hoefsloot graduated from the University of Alberta in 2022, making him one of several U of A alumni running in the 2025 federal election.

Hoefsloot got his Bachelor of Arts in 2019, then went on to get his Juris Doctor of Law in 2022. Now he works as a lawyer.

This isn’t Hoefsloot’s first campaign — he successfully ran a dedicated fee unit (DFU) for Student Legal Services (SLS) of Edmonton in the 2022 Students’ Union (SU) election. SLS provides legal services to students and those who cannot otherwise afford it. After graduating, Hoefsloot continued to work with SLS.

Also running in Edmonton Gateway is Madeline Mayes, a 2024 political science graduate from the U of A. She is running as the New Democratic Party’s (NDP) candidate. Several other U of A graduates are running in the Edmonton area.

Hoefsloot became the Edmonton Gateway candidate after the Liberal Party dropped Rod Loyola as their candidate for the riding. Loyola had resigned from his position as a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) to run as the Liberal candidate in Edmonton Gateway.

“I learned the same day as everyone else that I was going to be the candidate,” Hoefsloot said. “We got our Elections Canada signatures in four hours and we’ve been hitting the ground running ever since.”

“I would love to see the federal government … make sure that students are well taken care of,” Hoefsloot says

The Gateway asked Hoefsloot what he thinks the Liberal Party can offer students that other parties can’t. Hoefsloot said he started university around the same time the Liberals took power under former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. 

“What I saw initially there was huge for students,” Hoefsloot said. He mentioned the increases to the low-income and middle-income stream of the Canada Student Grant (CSG). 

“I, as someone growing up in a farming community, benefited from both of these systems,” Hoefsloot said. 

Hoefsloot mentioned the Liberal government has eliminated interest on federal student loans.

“I think this is possibly the smartest policy decision that this government’s done.”

Hoefsloot said he advocated for that policy when he was involved with the Liberal Party leading up to that decision.

“I want to see further funding for Canadian universities, where the Alberta government is clawing back and restricting their funding to Alberta universities. I would love to see the federal government step in and help out and make sure that students are well taken care of.”

The Gateway also asked Hoefsloot about research funding in light of leader of the Conservative Party of Canada Pierre Poilievre’s promise to end the “woke ideology” in university research. Researchers in the United States have seen the government restricting funding to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs and research.

“I think it’s a step in the wrong direction,” Hoefsloot said. “If we are going to have a good research industry here in Canada … we need to have an environment that is conducive towards research.”