I am member of a party and I personally know several candidates. That's how I know how high the barriers are. As @psvrh@lemmy.ca said in another comment here, the system is set up in a way that makes it very difficult for anyone other than people who are effectively "retired", whatever their age. And then we have the gall to complain that most politicians are out of touch with the average Canadian? Of course they are! It's nearly impossible for the average person to run, let alone coordinate the requirements of the job if they manage to win. That's how we end up with weirdo oligarchs like JT and PP who are completely divorced from your or my reality — they're the only ones who are able to make it through the system as it's currently set up. Harping about their salary is irrelevant because they don't need it. They could be paid $0 and they would still want the job because all they care about is power and fame. Low-ish salaries only hurt the "middle-class" candidates — the accountants, professors, small business owners, etc.