According to Elections Canada, the last decade has shown a significant gap between younger and older age groups when it comes to voter turnout.
The organization even conducted a National Youth Survey in 2015, which ultimately found motivation and success to be the two biggest barriers that prevented youth from voting.
It also found that compared to older voters, many Canadian youth are not only less interested in politics, but also don’t necessarily feel that voting will make a difference, believing the government doesn’t care what they think and tend to see voting as a choice rather than a duty.
That year, young voter turnout was reportedly more than 20 percentage points lower than that for people in the 65-to-74 age group.
Four years later, that gap increased, with youth at 25 percentage points lower than the 65-to-74 age group.
Not all young people, however, feel so disengaged and are working diligently with various political parties throughout the region to try to increase youth engagement in politics — locally, provincially and federally.
The ‘blue’ sheep in the family
Hale Mahon, 19, comes from a politically diverse family.
A member of the federal Conservative Party since he was 15 and provincially since 2017, Mahon told BarrieToday both of his parents as well as his grandparents are all very politically active, which is what ultimately piqued his interest and prompted him to get more involved.
“Interestingly enough, all of my family are Liberal and NDP, so I’m not sure how I became Conservative,” he said.
After meeting then-PC Party leader Patrick Brown — who has deep ties to Barrie as a former city councillor, local MP and area MPP — while attending a community event in 2017, Mahon says he found the right fit. Despite being cut from a different political cloth than the rest of his family, Mahon says it’s never created any issues for him.
“Everyone who I talked to politically in my family respected my views, even if I didn’t agree with them, and I respected their views,” he said. “You might have different positions on a certain issue, but your end goal is to improve people’s lives. That’s the end goal of all of politics.”
Mahon believes getting involved at a young age is important, especially since they will ultimately be the ones running for public office in the future.
“I think if you get involved now, it really gives you a leg up and a foot in the door in order to get involved in a bigger capacity in the future,” he said.
Anyone interested in volunteering should reach out to their local riding association for more information, Mahon said. Even if you’re not interested in knocking on doors or assisting with a campaign, showing up on Election Day is just as important, he added.
“In the 2015 federal election, we saw a very small vote difference. It was a very tight election and I think it came down to 50 votes or something in that ball park. If 50 people had voted a different way, it would have changed the outcome of the election,” he said.
“It’s easy to get caught up in the belief that one person can’t change anything politically, but your vote does matter.”
Going green
Owen Quann’s fascination with politics has been a longtime passion and is what ultimately drove the 22-year-old to begin asking questions and take action.
Quann told BarrieToday he first got involved in politics in 2015.
“I was emailing representatives from different parties asking about policies and how I can volunteer my time, the only party that responded were the Greens,” he said.
That’s when he met Bonnie North, the current Green candidate for the 2022 provincial election.
“She taught me the Green values and what it means to fight for the people and planet that I care about,” Quann said.
Now, more than ever, he says young people are pivotal in securing a sustainable future not only for Canadians but for the whole world.
“We know that too many of our current representatives care not about creating a prosperous society where people and the environment takes precedence over petty profit. The youth of our nation must step up and take control of our own futures,” Quaan said.
He says he’d advise any young person wanting to get involved in any level of government not be fearful to ask questions and meet new people.
“Most people involved in politics are thrilled to see youth engagement. They want to hear your voice, so use it.”
Seeing red
As a young, Afghan-Canadian woman growing up in Barrie, Aria Kamal says she didn’t see a lot of people like her in political office.
“I did not see as much diverse representation and, in particular, intersectional representation, in political spheres, when I was growing up,” said the 24-year-old Lakehead University law student.
Amal, who represented Barrie-Innisfil as the federal representative for Equal Voice’s Daughters of the Vote campaign in Ottawa, told BarrieToday she believes young people provide integral insight into society’s most pressing concerns and issues.
“I think that’s why a lot of significant social movements in history share that one common characteristic, which is youth as the driving force of substantive change.
“For me, I believed my lived experiences provided me with a unique lens,” she said.
It was while in Ottawa that she learned about political institutions and about how the MPs work with the institutions at parliament.
“That’s where I got my driving force to get more involved within the Liberal Party and government in particular,” she said. “In the past, the main difference is youth didn’t feel their voices were being heard or represented… and it was disheartening.
“But I love to see we are getting more youth engagement, specifically because I think now, as youth are approaching more elections in the future, we’re understanding that our priorities are being looked at more seriously and being prioritized.”
Joining the orange wave
Sarah Ortiz credits one of her college professors for spurring her involvement in politics.
Ortiz, 25, told BarrieToday she eventually joined the school’s debating society, which is where she learned of the opportunity to be involved with the upcoming election, and connected with members of the local NDP riding association.
“Prior to starting my post-secondary educational journey, I would never have envisioned myself in politics. I’m an immigrant. My entire family are immigrants in this country. I was born in Italy and came here at a young age,” she said.
“We struggled for years to get our papers, learn the language, and cope with the culture shock,” Ortiz added. “I hated politics and this country growing up because of so many things I saw my family members endure … but now I recognize I have a privilege and duty as a Canadian resident.”
Ortiz says she wants to give back to her community and her country. She says she could not have achieved the things she has — or become the person she is today — if Canada had not invested in her.
“I want to do more to help marginalized communities and politics is a great place to try and do so,” she said.
Ortiz believes it’s essential for young people to be involved in politics for a plethora of reasons.
“Young people are coping with the repercussions of the decisions of previous generations. We have been given debt, a burning, polluted planet, endless systemic and humanitarian issues, and unprecedented inflation rates. Not only do we need to be more active in politics, but politics needs us as well in efforts for anything to positively change,” she said.
“We have learned from the mistakes of generations before us, and it’s time for millennials and Gen Z communities to be validly recognized.”
It’s also a great way to gain public-speaking and debate skills, stay informed on current events, network, meet your community, and build your resume, Ortiz says.
“Volunteering is a great way to give back, but could also lead to a future employment opportunity as well. It’s a fantastic way to make a difference. We want to encourage philanthropic trailblazers. We want to encourage critical thinkers and doers,” she said.
“Young people hold the most power. We can enormously influence the election, at whichever level it may be held (local, provincial, federal), by ensuring young people make it to the voting booths.”
Ortiz’s advice to her fellow millennials is to be bold, fearless, and just “go for it.”
“Talk to community members, ask questions to those already involved, volunteer, delve into some research – do whatever speaks to you and is within your capacities. You don’t have to run an entire election or be the prime minister to be involved in politics,” she said. “Anyone can, and everyone should, participate in politics to whatever extent possible.
“Something as simple as a signature, a phone call, putting up a lawn sign, or even a small one-time donation can go a very, very long way. Stay passionate and stay excited. Politics can be challenging, but also more rewarding than you might think.”
HALIFAX – Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston says it’s “disgraceful and demeaning” that a Halifax-area school would request that service members not wear military uniforms to its Remembrance Day ceremony.
Houston’s comments were part of a chorus of criticism levelled at the school — Sackville Heights Elementary — whose administration decided to back away from the plan after the outcry.
A November newsletter from the school in Middle Sackville, N.S., invited Armed Forces members to attend its ceremony but asked that all attendees arrive in civilian attire to “maintain a welcoming environment for all.”
Houston, who is currently running for re-election, accused the school’s leaders of “disgracing themselves while demeaning the people who protect our country” in a post on the social media platform X Thursday night.
“If the people behind this decision had a shred of the courage that our veterans have, this cowardly and insulting idea would have been rejected immediately,” Houston’s post read. There were also several calls for resignations within the school’s administration attached to Houston’s post.
In an email to families Thursday night, the school’s principal, Rachael Webster, apologized and welcomed military family members to attend “in the attire that makes them most comfortable.”
“I recognize this request has caused harm and I am deeply sorry,” Webster’s email read, adding later that the school has the “utmost respect for what the uniform represents.”
Webster said the initial request was out of concern for some students who come from countries experiencing conflict and who she said expressed discomfort with images of war, including military uniforms.
Her email said any students who have concerns about seeing Armed Forces members in uniform can be accommodated in a way that makes them feel safe, but she provided no further details in the message.
Webster did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
At a news conference Friday, Houston said he’s glad the initial request was reversed but said he is still concerned.
“I can’t actually fathom how a decision like that was made,” Houston told reporters Friday, adding that he grew up moving between military bases around the country while his father was in the Armed Forces.
“My story of growing up in a military family is not unique in our province. The tradition of service is something so many of us share,” he said.
“Saying ‘lest we forget’ is a solemn promise to the fallen. It’s our commitment to those that continue to serve and our commitment that we will pass on our respects to the next generation.”
Liberal Leader Zach Churchill also said he’s happy with the school’s decision to allow uniformed Armed Forces members to attend the ceremony, but he said he didn’t think it was fair to question the intentions of those behind the original decision.
“We need to have them (uniforms) on display at Remembrance Day,” he said. “Not only are we celebrating (veterans) … we’re also commemorating our dead who gave the greatest sacrifice for our country and for the freedoms we have.”
NDP Leader Claudia Chender said that while Remembrance Day is an important occasion to honour veterans and current service members’ sacrifices, she said she hopes Houston wasn’t taking advantage of the decision to “play politics with this solemn occasion for his own political gain.”
“I hope Tim Houston reached out to the principal of the school before making a public statement,” she said in a statement.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
REGINA – Saskatchewan Opposition NDP Leader Carla Beck says she wants to prove to residents her party is the government in waiting as she heads into the incoming legislative session.
Beck held her first caucus meeting with 27 members, nearly double than what she had before the Oct. 28 election but short of the 31 required to form a majority in the 61-seat legislature.
She says her priorities will be health care and cost-of-living issues.
Beck says people need affordability help right now and will press Premier Scott Moe’s Saskatchewan Party government to cut the gas tax and the provincial sales tax on children’s clothing and some grocery items.
Beck’s NDP is Saskatchewan’s largest Opposition in nearly two decades after sweeping Regina and winning all but one seat in Saskatoon.
The Saskatchewan Party won 34 seats, retaining its hold on all of the rural ridings and smaller cities.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
HALIFAX – Nova Scotia‘s growing population was the subject of debate on Day 12 of the provincial election campaign, with Liberal Leader Zach Churchill arguing immigration levels must be reduced until the province can provide enough housing and health-care services.
Churchill said Thursday a plan by the incumbent Progressive Conservatives to double the province’s population to two million people by the year 2060 is unrealistic and unsustainable.
“That’s a big leap and it’s making life harder for people who live here, (including ) young people looking for a place to live and seniors looking to downsize,” he told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.
Anticipating that his call for less immigration might provoke protests from the immigrant community, Churchill was careful to note that he is among the third generation of a family that moved to Nova Scotia from Lebanon.
“I know the value of immigration, the importance of it to our province. We have been built on the backs of an immigrant population. But we just need to do it in a responsible way.”
The Liberal leader said Tim Houston’s Tories, who are seeking a second term in office, have made a mistake by exceeding immigration targets set by the province’s Department of Labour and Immigration. Churchill said a Liberal government would abide by the department’s targets.
In the most recent fiscal year, the government welcomed almost 12,000 immigrants through its nominee program, exceeding the department’s limit by more than 4,000, he said. The numbers aren’t huge, but the increase won’t help ease the province’s shortages in housing and doctors, and the increased strain on its infrastructure, including roads, schools and cellphone networks, Churchill said.
“(The Immigration Department) has done the hard work on this,” he said. “They know where the labour gaps are, and they know what growth is sustainable.”
In response, Houston said his commitment to double the population was a “stretch goal.” And he said the province had long struggled with a declining population before that trend was recently reversed.
“The only immigration that can come into this province at this time is if they are a skilled trade worker or a health-care worker,” Houston said. “The population has grown by two per cent a year, actually quite similar growth to what we experienced under the Liberal government before us.”
Still, Houston said he’s heard Nova Scotians’ concerns about population growth, and he then pivoted to criticize Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for trying to send 6,000 asylum seekers to Nova Scotia, an assertion the federal government has denied.
Churchill said Houston’s claim about asylum seekers was shameful.
“It’s smoke and mirrors,” the Liberal leader said. “He is overshooting his own department’s numbers for sustainable population growth and yet he is trying to blame this on asylum seekers … who aren’t even here.”
In September, federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller said there is no plan to send any asylum seekers to the province without compensation or the consent of the premier. He said the 6,000 number was an “aspirational” figure based on models that reflect each province’s population.
In Halifax, NDP Leader Claudia Chender said it’s clear Nova Scotia needs more doctors, nurses and skilled trades people.
“Immigration has been and always will be a part of the Nova Scotia story, but we need to build as we grow,” Chender said. “This is why we have been pushing the Houston government to build more affordable housing.”
Chender was in a Halifax cafe on Thursday when she promised her party would remove the province’s portion of the harmonized sales tax from all grocery, cellphone and internet bills if elected to govern on Nov. 26. The tax would also be removed from the sale and installation of heat pumps.
“Our focus is on helping people to afford their lives,” Chender told reporters. “We know there are certain things that you can’t live without: food, internet and a phone …. So we know this will have the single biggest impact.”
The party estimates the measure would save the average Nova Scotia family about $1,300 a year.
“That’s a lot more than a one or two per cent HST cut,” Chender said, referring to the Progressive Conservative pledge to reduce the tax by one percentage point and the Liberal promise to trim it by two percentage points.
Elsewhere on the campaign trail, Houston announced that a Progressive Conservative government would make parking free at all Nova Scotia hospitals and health-care centres. The promise was also made by the Liberals in their election platform released Monday.
“Free parking may not seem like a big deal to some, but … the parking, especially for people working at the facilities, can add up to hundreds of dollars,” the premier told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.
