Youth Voter Turnout in Canada

878 Words2 Pages

Canada is a society built on the promise of democracy; democracy being defined as “government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system.” In order to operate at full potential, the people of Canada must voice their opinions and participate fully in the political system. This is why it’s shocking to see that people are becoming less engaged in politics and the voter turnout has steadily been declining over the last 20 years. This lack of participation by Canadians is creating a government that is influenced by fewer people, which is detrimental to the democratic system Canada is built on. Out of all Canadian age groups, the voter turnout for young voters is the most disappointing. In specific today’s youth are less likely to vote, less interested in politics, and know less about politics compared to all other Canadians. This brings about a great deal of concern, as young people are the future of this country, and are expected to uphold the expectations put on them by their older counterparts. Youth are still being affected by the consequences brought about by politics; they still go to school, get jobs, get sick, and so forth, so why is it that they feel indifferent? Research has brought about an abundance of reasons why youth are becoming less engaged in the political process. Education, absence of political knowledge, the media and family influence, indifference to election campaigns, inadequate amount of change, and lack of motivation are all possible factors in influencing the youth voter turnout. The younger the person the less exposure they’ve had to the world of politics, therefor the less ... ... middle of paper ... ...CPRN. de Broucker, Patrice. 2005b. Without a Paddle: What to do About Canada's Young Drop-Outs. CPRN Research Report. Ottawa: Canadian Policy Research Networks. October. Elections Canada. 2007. Voter Turnout at Federal Elections and Referendums, 1867-2006. Ottawa: Elections Canada. O’Neill, Brenda. 2007. “Human Capital, Civic Engagement and Political Participation: Turning Skills and Knowledge into Engagement and Action.” In Garnett Picot, Ron Saunders and Arthur Sweetman (eds). Fulfilling Potential, Creating Success: Perspectives on Human Capital Development. Kingston: McGill-Queen’s University Press. Pammett, Jon, and Lawrence LeDuc. 2003. Explaining the Turnout Decline in Canadian Federal Elections: A New Survey of Non-Voters. Ottawa: Elections Canada. York, Geoffrey. 2007. “Text-messages: the new Chinese protest tool.” Globe and Mail, Friday, June 1: A13.

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