They're 50 years apart, but P.E.I.'s oldest and youngest MLAs have at least one thing in common

They are 50 years apart and come from vastly different backgrounds, but Ole Hammarlund and Cory Deagle are proof it's never too late — or early — to run for politics.

Hammarlund, 77, and Deagle, 27, are the oldest and youngest MLAs in the P.E.I. Legislature and how the rookie representatives got there couldn't be more different.

Hammarlund, an MLA for the Official Opposition Green Party, grew up in a small village outside Copenhagen, Denmark, with environmentalist parents in a home with no electricity or indoor bathroom. As a kid, he loved to build tree houses and later become a renowned architect.

Deagle, an MLA for the governing Progressive Conservatives, grew up in Summerville, P.E.I., in a busy household with a single mom and three younger brothers — including a set of twins. As a kid, he loved to play hockey and later became a coach and referee.

'Excited about doing good stuff'

But the rookie MLAs have something in common — "We're equally excited about doing good stuff in the legislature," Hammarlund said.

And both say it's the right time in their lives to do it.

Hammarlund, who describes himself as naturally shy, says it took him this long just to be able to stand up and speak out. The MIT alum says he realized that despite years of designing environmentally sustainable buildings, his efforts weren't enough. The world "had been clearly going downhill," he said.

"So I felt I needed to do something that would have a quicker and more substantial effect. So I joined the Green Party and decided to run for a seat."

Deagle, outgoing with a polished smile and firm handshake, has been grooming for the legislature ever since PC MLA Steven Myers hired him as a researcher in 2012 at the age of 20.

When an opportunity came up to run in the district of Montague-Kilmuir, Deagle seized it.

"There was always kind of naysayers that you know said, 'Oh you're too young' or 'it's not your time,' those kind of things. But it only made me put my head down and work harder."

He says he wants to address constituency issues in Kings County like the aging school and hospital closures. But Deagle, who says he respects everyone's opinion but personally believes in climate change and a woman's right to choose to have an abortion — also wants to change any perception that the PC Party is "backwards."

"I'm hoping that with my age and being an MLA for the PC Party that perhaps young people will look at our party as saying 'Wow this party elected someone that's 27. He's my age or just a little older and I can see that party as being a party that would work to help with issues that we're facing.'"

As well, Hammarlund says there's also no reason people in their later years shouldn't run for politics.

"I think it's important to do things that you're interested in that keeps you young — if not your bones at least your heart and your brains," he said.

For Hammarlund, who is passionate about the environment, that means "doing stuff that makes a difference."

"Even though — or maybe because — I'm older, I'm taking a long-term view and that's one of the things that attracted me to the Green Party, is that they plan not just for the next election or next few years, they plan for the future," he said.

"I'd like to leave P.E.I. and the world, if you will, just a little bit better than when I started."

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