The upcoming municipal election and the Liberal leadership convention have created opportunities for youth to get involved in the democratic process once again. So why are so few students going to vote?
Simply searching the Internet reveals the lack of importance the political sphere places on youth issues. The NDP’s website has the word “youth” at the bottom of the page, a link that sends visitors to a mini-site devoted to what the party considers “youth issues.” These include tuition fees, fighting poverty abroad, environment concerns, and a desire for political change. The Liberal Party’s website includes a few references to youth, primarily involving the party’s Renewal Commission, headed by Justin Trudeau. A visit to the Conservative Party’s web domain, on the other hand, turns up nothing geared towards youth or students.
In a 2003 speech, Jean-Pierre Kingsley, Canada’s Chief Electoral Officer, reported that just over a quarter of Canada’s voters aged 18 to 21 exercise their right to vote. Since youth do not form a significant part of the voting population, politicians have little to gain politically by addressing their issues.
The Liberal Party’s Renewal Commission recently found that youth show little interest in politics because they fail to see a direct correlation between voting and tangible results in their everyday lives. Perhaps they prefer to be involved in other forms of civil society, such as activism or participation in non-governmental organizations, since acting concretely through those mediums may seem more relevant to results-oriented young people. But this is not the only explanation. Kingsley cites studies of voting trends that found most young people involved in civil society are also the ones who vote.
One could therefore conclude that most youth are not involved in the political sphere at all. Youth, as Kingsley put it, “are not opting into the system.”
Marko Trivun, president of the U of T Liberals, shares this view. “I think it would be a mistake to say that all of them [youth] are fed up with politicians. I would argue that a great majority are just not interested,” he said.
Regarding the Liberal Party’s upcoming leadership convention, one must wonder how much of a say young people will get in choosing the person who might well be our next prime minister. Candidate Stéphane Dion’s website offers a well-developed section on youth issues, including a “Youth Platform.” Front-runner Michael Ignatieff’s website sports a link to the popular “Iggynation” site, the online blog relating to his youth campaign. Bob Rae and Gerard Kennedy-the candidate who was expected to raise interest amongst young people-have little to no references to youth issues on their main websites.
Not to overemphasize the lack of youth participation, it’s important to recognize that some students are active to a high degree in political life. U of T plays host to Conservative, Liberal and New Democratic associations and after all, a student from Humber College is running for mayor of Toronto, and a UTSC student for city councillor.
For the most part however, young people don’t participate in politics because they are unaware or uninterested in the campaign issues, they see no reason to get involved, or they’re opposed to the political system altogether. In return, young people are being ignored by politicians, who logically prefer to cater to the vast majority of voters-adults.
Until more than half of Canada’s young people participate to the most basic degree, by voting regularly, politicians and governments will continue to ignore their issues.
