I was interested in politics from a young age, I think by nature, but clearly also by nurture.

Both my parents were politically active, and (yes) both considered themselves socialists (in the US, they would likely have been considered radical communists, but in the Great White North they were on the left wing of the mainstream political spectrum).

Growing up, my parents were actively involved with the NDP, published a populist, left-wing newspaper, and were friends with a number of provincial and federal members of parliament. Politics was all around me.