Where Were We?

This election saw its lowest numbers of voter turnout ever… 59%.

Back in the 60’s voter turnout was somewhere close to 80%, and you know what? People who were around in the 60’s are still showing up to vote. The age cohort with the greatest voter turnout is the 50+ group. That translates to campaigns aimed at this age-group.

Which came first the chicken or the egg? Do we wait until we’re old enough to finally be interested in pension-plan politics, or do we get off our facebook and start using our voices?

Many young people don’t vote. Approximately only 38% of young people ages 18-24 actually showed up at the 2006 polls (and I’m sure that number is down in this most recent election). When polled for why they don’t vote, most said that they didn’t know enough, followed by those who said that they didn’t have time, and lastly, they simply didn’t care.

We make up the cohort with the WORST voter turnout, and that translates to not only having a nearly silent voice in the happenings of our country, but it also means that our needs and interests will never be catered to. Political platforms won’t speak to our interests, passions or concerns until we become a force to be reckoned with. Rick Mercer of the Mercer Report said that if most university students simply showed up on election day to vote, the entire political system would be changed because politicians would no longer be able to ignore our interests.

The Carbon Tax proposal of the Liberal platform was extremely unpopular, and many suggest that it (along with voter distaste for Dion) cost the Liberals big time. But the truth is that environmental advocacy groups support the carbon tax plan as one of the best ways to hit the issue of global warming head-on. Most environmental economists say that the only way to really address greenhouse gas is to put a price on carbon emissions. I believe that the coming generation actually cares about our environment more than previous generations. My mom says that our generation is paying for the “sins” of her generation (be it politically and environmentally). She feels that we’ll do things so differently than hers… I really hope so.

Both Green Peace and Sierra Club issued statements urging Canadians to “vote for any party but the conservatives” because the Tories were the only party who lacked any real environmental solution to greenhouse gas emissons (in fact, the Tory’s action plan is deemed by environmental experts as tepid, at very best, and the environment will only continue to get a lot worse under such regulation).

As I sat in a room election night, hugely outnumbered by Conservative supporters, I couldn’t help but wonder what the polls would reveal had we actually showed up. I dare to think that the outcome would be quite different, and perhaps I would’ve been spared listening to all the poorly constructed left-wing jokes while I sat blushing and biting my tongue.