“People want a fresh start,” he says. “They want youth, energy and new ideas. It’s about what kind of Ontario we want 20 years from now.”

His campaign rests on three pillars: creatively tackling climate change, establishing an innovative economy buoyed by artificial intelligence and automation entrepreneurship, and reinforcing an education system that’s “our competitive advantage.”

What angers him about the first year of the Ontario Conservative government are the “nonsensical cuts, stopping things in midstream,” wasting previous investments. He laments cancellation of university expansions in Brampton, Markham and Milton.

Sheridan spent years developing the Entrepreneurship Discover and Growth Engine (EDGE) entrepreneurship startup incubator at Mississauga’s McCallion campus, winning funding from the provincial and federal governments.

Doug Ford’s government summarily pulled it.

“If you’re open for business, how does it help to cut funding to local kids starting local businesses?” asked Tedjo.

Ottawa added grants to keep it going.

Tedjo has previously run for office. He lost to former Mississauga South Tory candidate Effie Triantafilopoulos in the Oakville North-Burlington provincial riding last year. In 2014, he ran for Ward 2 councillor in Mississauga, coming third to Karen Ras.

He plans to run in 2022, ideally in his home riding of Mississauga-Lakeshore.

To win the leadership, Tedjo must engage the under-40 demographic, those considered unlikely to vote because of preoccupations with career, affording a home and pondering a future without a pension.

“I want to give them a home,” he says. “I share their concerns. I have the same ones.”

John Stewart is a retired longtime journalist with the Mississauga News. His column, My Back Pages, appears each week.