The Canadian election campaign is upon us and, for me, that’s kind of like the start of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

When I get together with my friends to watch a leaders debate, I realize, between yelling at the TV, cheering and booing, that this is how it must feel for people who love watching sports.

Now, not everyone gets as excited about elections as I do, which I get. Politics can be frustrating, confusing and even downright annoying at times, but there’s something cool going on during this election that gives all Canadians a leg up when it comes to calling on their local candidates to support the movement to end global poverty.

It’s called #PoliticsAside and our awesome friends at Engineers without Borders (EWB) and ONE are the masterminds behind it.

It’s a simple online tool that allows you to quickly contact all the candidates running in your area by typing in your postal code.

A pre-written email is generated, which you can edit if you like, and with the click of a button you are able to make your voice heard loud and clear.

You can check it out at: http://www.politicsaside.ca/act

Canadians all across the country are taking action already and over 50 candidates have joined the conversation!

Extreme poverty is often left out of election campaigns because candidates and party leaders assume that it’s not something that Canadians are all that concerned about. But they’re wrong. Global citizens are very concerned about what the next Prime Minister and their cabinet are going to do when it comes to ending extreme poverty.

In fact, a recent poll showed that a whopping 94% of Canadians believe it is important to improve health, education and economic opportunity for the world's poorest.

Unlike the economy, which every candidate is sure to address in full, we need to push candidates to tell us about what they’re going to do to help the world’s poor if they are elected and the #PoliticsAside tool is a super easy way to do it.

So, even if politics isn’t usually your cup of tea, this is an easy way to get involved, find out who’s running in your area and give them a little piece of your mind.

Take Action: Email your local candidates to ask them to support the movement to end global poverty