If the taking of selfies is any measure of popularity, federal NDP leader Jagmeet Singh scored quite a few points when he dropped in at Northern College Thursday morning.

Singh has been on a tour of the Timmins-James Bay riding with New Democrat MP and colleague Charlie Angus.

There was a buzz in the room when Angus and Singh arrived at the Northern College cafeteria at about 10:30 a.m.

At one point, Singh held the microphone and was giving shout-outs to different students and classes in both French and English. Suddenly Singh began speaking in Punjabi, a language common in the Punjab regions of both northern India and Pakistan.

Just as quickly the faces of several students lit up with smiles as they realized they were hearing a national Canadian political leader speaking their own language. Many of the students shouted back greetings, also in Punjabi.

Among the concerns discussed with students was the cost of post-secondary education. Singh revealed that the time he went to law school in the early 2000s and the cost of his tuition was something he struggled with. He had to scrape together all his savings and get help from family members, he recalled. He said the cost was $8,000 a year.

“That same law school now is $35,000 a year,” he said.

Singh told the students there is no way he could afford that sort of tuition cost.

“I wouldn’t have been able to become a lawyer,” he said, adding that he had the support of his family and he was pleased for that.

“Don’t worry about me. I am just one person. Imagine all the young people right now in our country that dream of doing something, that have the passion to do something and can’t do it because they can’t afford the tuition,” he said.

Singh said too many young Canadians are “missing out” but he said because those people cannot reach their potential it means that our economy and the rest of the country is missing out on the knowledge and contribution that might have been.

He said his preference is that Canada should have free tuition for all post-secondary students.

“We should have free tuition in Canada. That is possible. That is achievable,” said Singh.

The comment drew a round of applause from the students.

He said the cost would be roughly $6 billion to $9 billion a year.

Singh said the current tuition fee of $35,000 annually for law school is no longer realistic or achievable for ordinary families.

“Do we want to continue down a path where only the wealthy will be able to afford to go to school, or do want to chart a path forward where everyone can pursue education and can pursue their dreams? I believe that’s what Canadians want,” said Singh.

He said stats provided by the Canadian Federation of Students indicated the costs would be somewhere as low as $6 billion and as high as $9 billion.

Singh said the country needs to seriously begin planning and considering how to provide free tuition for every student who wants post-secondary education.