NDP leader stoked for 'epic crossover' with AOC

OTTAWA - NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says his public video gaming session with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez tonight is about reaching young people where they hang.

Singh, who challenged the firebrand member of Congress yesterday to a round of "Among Us," a popular online multiplayer game, says legislators have an obligation to connect with younger Canadians hit hard by COVID-19.

Ce Soir🎮👾@AOC x @hasanthehun x @NorthernlionLP

RSVP ici : https://t.co/Af5QyE7VZc pic.twitter.com/SbXYHZU5RU

— Jagmeet Singh (@theJagmeetSingh) November 27, 2020

Many of their retail and restaurant jobs have vanished, adding to the psychological toll of weathering a pandemic alone.

Singh says he and AOC, as the U.S. representative from New York is known, share progressive values on health care, economic equality and climate change, views that align with a growing slice of young voters.

Ocasio-Cortez livestreamed her debut on "Among Us" last month in an effort to lure younger voters to the polls for the Nov. 3 election in the U.S., attracting a staggering 439,000 viewers.

Friday's matchup, which will stream on the online gaming site Twitch, begins at 7 p.m. eastern time.

The game pits a team of tiny astronauts trying to return to Earth against one of their own, a sneaky saboteur whose objective is to kill off other crew members before they can repair their ship and identify the impostor.

Singh saw some symbolic significance in the mission.

"If you think about the impostors as the ones that are at the very top exploiting the system or the ultra-wealthy who aren’t paying their fair share … that’s a pretty cool metaphor."