According to a recent Statistics Canada report, the 2003-2004 academic year saw the strongest increase in university enrollment in almost three decades. The almost 1,000,000 students now registered in universities across the country marks the sixth consecutive year a new record was achieved.
Among the reasons for the increased demand in post-secondary education, the study highlighted a rise in the number of students aged 18 to 24 registering in university. Since many employers now require a university degree or college diploma as the minimum educational standard, students recognize the importance of advanced education in today’s competitive global economy.
It is perplexing, then, that at the same time young Canadians are wisely choosing to continue their education and improve their skills for the marketplace, they are choosing not to vote and participate in the selection of our political leaders.
There have been 38 general elections in Canadian history. In every election since 1984-when Brian Mulroney was first elected with overwhelming support-voter turnout has decreased. In the 2004 election, which produced Canada’s first minority Parliament since Joe Clark’s short-lived government, voter turnout was a paltry 60.9 percent. Even more disturbing, it is estimated that less than 25 percent of Canadians between the ages of 18 and 24 cast a ballot.
The question thus arises: why, at a time when university enrollment is skyrocketing, is voter participation among university age students declining?
These statistics raise serious questions about the state of politics in Canada. If future leaders are increasingly deciding to forgo their basic civic duty as young adults, it reflects negatively upon the current slate of elected officials in all levels of government.
What does it say about the state of our nation that young people will go to school and listen to a two-hour lecture on English literature, but aren’t interested in going to a community centre once every couple of years, stand in line for five minutes, and mark an X on a ballot?
There undoubtedly exists a lack of representation of young people on both sides of the House of Commons, although this absence is certainly more acute in the government benches. Currently, only four Liberal MPs-Dr. Ruby Dhalla, Navdeep Bains, Jean-Claude D’Amours and Mark Holland, representing three per cent of the Liberal caucus-are below the age of 35, and only one, Mr. Bains, is under 30. In addition, according to the Library of Parliament, the average age for a Member of Parliament after the 2004 election was 51 years old-the highest average since Louis St. Laurent was prime minister in 1953.
The tumultuous spring session in the House of Commons, characterized by bitter partisan battles, devalued the very institution central to our country’s governing and further alienated the average Canadian, especially the young, from participating in the political process. The release of Mr. Justice John Gomery’s report on the sponsorship scandal adds to the absence of confidence in our political leaders.
At a time when young people are choosing to invest in themselves, and in the future of Canada, through education, politicians must recognize that young people feel disconnected from traditional political institutions, and make a concerted effort to engage these future graduates. All politicians, but particularly Prime Minister Paul Martin, must make it a priority to connect with young Canadians and ensure that future leaders of this great land are not dismissing politics as undignified, but instead, recognizing it for the noble and honourable career it can be.
