His high school exams are just behind him, but that doesn't mean Kai Trappenberg can kick up his feet just yet.

That's because the 18 year old is running in the May 30 Nova Scotia election as the Green Party candidate for Timberlea-Prospect.

If his last name sounds familiar, there's a reason why. His father, Thomas, is the leader of the Green Party of Nova Scotia and is running in Clayton Park West.

The party didn't have a candidate for Timberlea-Prospect, so the elder Trappenberg asked the younger Trappenberg to run.

"I thought it would be great to encourage other people my age to be a little more engaged in politics," said Kai, noting one of the party's platform promises is to lower the voting age from 18 to 16.

Strong leadership skills

Kai is active in school politics at Halifax West High School, where he's enrolled in the international baccalaureate program and recently wrote 14 final exams. With those exams out of the way, he's begun campaigning door to door.

Thomas said his son's leadership skills make him a good fit for politics.

"He was always interested in getting other people to help other people," said Thomas.

Thomas would like to see more younger people get involved in politics because the decisions made today are felt by younger generations tomorrow.

Key campaign issues

Besides lowering the voting age, some of the issues important to Kai are electoral reform and doing away with the first-past-the-post system, as well as protecting the environment, which isn't surprising given he'll be attending Dalhousie University in the fall and pursuing a bachelor of science.

Andy LeBlanc, the director of policy and communications for Elections Nova Scotia, said it doesn't track the date of birth of candidates, so it isn't possible to say whether Kai is the youngest person ever to run for provincial office in the province.

Under the rules, a candidate must be 18 or older on election day. Kai turned 18 on March 3.

Kai said his classmates were shocked when they learned he was running for office, but he thinks his generation should have a voice and isn't too young to be a part of politics.

"It is our future and it does affect us," he said.