Why are young Canadians, including in Alberta, deciding not to vote?

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Rapper Jhene Aiko postponed these verses in 2020. “I just want to vote, I just want to feel like I’m working, vote, I can have it, but it shouldn’t be like magic.”

Aiko is talking to young Americans about the need to use their franchise, but also demonstrates an understanding of how difficult it is to care about politics when they worry so much about daily worry.

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She may have also been targeting her songs at the young people in this country. Canadian election statistics show that in the 2021 federal election, only 46.7% of Canadians actually voted, down 7.2 percentage points from the 2019 vote. More than half of Canadians did not bother to go to the polling station.

A new Leger poll shows that among young voters, conservative support is strong, exceeding 39% to 37% of liberals. But the same poll found that 52% of older people with the Liberal Party support liberals, while only 34% would like to see the Conservative Party take over as the council.

These things seem to cancel each other out, but that is not the case. That’s because voters are very involved in senior year – 74.9% of voters voted 65-74 in 2021. Therefore, this is a dichotomy – While Conservative support is rising among young people, it may not matter because it is a crowd and cannot be counted on Election Day. Meanwhile, Mark Carney and his liberals can support older people like money in banks.

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So the tricky question for the Conservatives and all parties is how to attract young voters when trends show that they are becoming less interested in politics?

Jaden Braves is CEO of Canadian Young Politicians, an advocacy organization with more than 1,000 members in Canada. He said the 39-37 figure is actually good news for the Liberals because he believes the gap is even bigger before Carney takes over as the new prime minister.

The Brave said that since most youths get most of the information through social media, this is where the Conservatives can capitalize it.

“There is a sense of control and authority in the conservative movement that does not exist in the free movement,” said the Brave. “Conservatives make you feel like you are part of the special clubs of society. They make you feel special.

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“There are still some issues, such as affordable housing. Young voters know things don’t work, but who will solve the problem there?”

The Brave said that like older voters, young people suffer from Justin Trudeau’s fatigue. But because young voters don’t follow mainstream media like their parents or grandparents, they are only familiar with Carney. That’s why liberals narrowed the gap to 39-37.

The Brave said Canadian high schools must do a better job to educate children about the importance of voting. Young Canadian politicians lobby Canada for holding a Youth Committee. He said colleges and university campuses need more polling stations.

Let youth enter the voting box

In 2020, Alberta launched a Youth Voting Program to address the poor number of voters in provincial voting aged 18 to 24. A report after the 2019 elections pointed out that more than half of non-votes surveyed said there was absolutely nothing that could motivate them to vote. The Alberta elections have created a future voter program designed to educate children in grades 6, 9 and 12 about the democratic process.

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French Union – Young peopleU Nouveau-Brunswick issued an open letter Thursday reiterating the group’s decade-long call for lowering the voting age to 16. It has been sent to all elected officials in the province and released to the media.

“We need a better civic literature education,” said the Brave. “On April 28, we will have a neck and neck game. Everything may take several days to confirm. That’s why it’s so important to mobilize young voters.”

The Alberta chapter of young Canadian politicians held its first youth summit in Calgary on March 23 and was called on the same day.

Eleanor Khalil, co-chair of the Alberta chapter, is only 17 years old. She isn’t big enough to vote, but is participating in the process and is working to get more of her peers involved in the political process. She admits she sticks with a group of friends.

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Young people desire a sense of belonging, she said.

“Young people lack community,” she said. “If we put them in a like-minded group, we can get them connected to each other.”

And if they connect, they will become more involved, at least that’s Halil’s hope.

She said that in the age of social media, people like and dislike, and the rise of online humiliation, a generation of young people are reluctant to make such willingness to their political views.

“They are afraid to make a sound.”

ssandor@postmedia.com