Tired of voting
Well, here we are once again. Or rather, here are the people of Whitby-Oshawa once again. For the fifth time since the summer of 2014, residents are being called upon to cast a ballot.
With a run of a provincial election followed by a municipal election followed by a federal byelection followed by a federal election, it’s understandable that the issues all start to bleed into one another. The sentiment of many in the community after seeing election signs, once again, cluttering the roadways was “didn’t we just do this?”
Canada, as a whole, has had issues with voter turnout for quite some time. While the trend was stymied in October’s federal runoff – the turnout was the highest it’s been since 1993 – voter numbers have been declining for decades. In the last provincial election, just over half of eligible voters cast a ballot. This means that millions of people saw what was going on and thought, “Why bother?”
A 2011 study by the Conference Board of Canada tied the drop in voter turnout to fewer and fewer young people going out to vote. The study made a few recommendations on how to turn that trend around, including making voting easier, making politics more relevant to younger demographics and engaging them more directly in the political process.
It could be argued that this is, in part, what helped Justin Trudeau take the Liberals from the third party on Parliament Hill to the top spot.
However, in this byelection, those lessons appear to have been lost. While this campaign has seen some discussion on youth matters – postsecondary education and jobs for young people, for example – much of the debate has focused around hydro costs and care for seniors.
While these issues do affect all people in one way or another, those issues by themselves are not going to grab the attention of young voters in Whitby-Oshawa. Many young people look at hydro rates and don’t have to worry about providing electricity for a whole home. And their senior years are decades away.
And that is why you can expect a low turnout on Feb. 11.