News

By Katherine Gilks

A consistent theme in Canadian history is fighting for the right to vote. During my time coordinating our Heritage Fairs program, I have seen hundreds of projects about and/or relating to voting rights and democracy. Middle years students, still at least four years away from being eligible to vote themselves, are nonetheless adamant that expanding the right to vote has contributed positively to the wellbeing of Canadians.

Voting used to be exclusively a privilege of men of European descent who owned land. Students are sometimes surprised to learn that it has not always been considered a universal right. Confederation coincided with the rise of the women’s suffrage movement, but European-descended women only earned the right to vote in the early twentieth century after over fifty years of campaigning. Many ethnic groups were either stripped of their rights or never legally granted them until the middle of the twentieth century. Indigenous Canadians could not vote until 1960. Canadians with disabilities also faced (and continue to face) many obstacles in voting. There are still many ongoing questions about who should be eligible to vote, including whether to lower the voting age to 15 or 16. These stories remind us that our right to vote is not guaranteed and has been fought hard for by our predecessors. Having the right to have some say in how our communities are run has been a limited privilege for the majority of our country’s history.

Of course, the legal right to have a say does not mean we always feel its impact. It is easy to get disillusioned and feel like our vote does not matter. Many of us know the feeling of alienation that comes with living in regions where our political views may clash with those of our neighbours, or where the political views of us and our neighbours clash with those of the overall city, province, or country. It can be disappointing when one’s preferred candidate or political party goes on to lose an election, especially when this happens consistently. Even if your chosen candidate or party consistently wins with a high margin, it can feel your individual vote doesn’t matter much; what’s the purpose in voting when it seems like the result is assured? Apathy and disengagement are understandable. With the way that social discourse has taken a turn for the nasty, it is especially enticing to just ignore it all. We feel overwhelmed and powerless.

However, voting is where we do get to exercise our democratic right. Most of the decisions that affect our everyday lives take place at the municipal level: roads, water, waste disposal, etc. Healthcare, education, policing, etc. are primarily handled by the province in conjunction with municipalities. These are important aspects of our lives and the lives of our friends, families, and neighbours. What kind of community, province, and country do we want to live in? Who best aligns with our values, regardless of how we thought and voted (or how our families voted) in the past?

Dissenting voices matter too, even if it may seem like they do not. All parties need to know how much support they have. A good representative should listen to all their constituents and take various perspectives into consideration. This may appear obvious if they won by a handful of votes, but is equally important if they won by a landslide. Once our MLA, mayor, councillor, or school board trustee is elected, they have to represent all of their constituents, including dissenting views. Ideally, we all want to work together toward the overall wellbeing of our communities.

Lastly, we can feel disinclined to vote because we feel overwhelmed and uninformed. With the way our media landscape has changed in recent years, it can feel overwhelming to a) even find local news, and b) find information that is accurate and as objective as possible (or at least declares its biases so that one can examine it critically) so that one can actually evaluate how each political party and policy aligns with one’s values. It is laudable to feel that one should take voting seriously, and therefore, it is our duty to get as informed as possible. Being an informed voter does not mean one needs to be an expert on every issue, but rather that we consider our values and hopes for our communities, weighing these against what candidates and political parties are offering us. Knowing which candidates align with our values and what issues that they find important are crucial. Do the candidates care about more than one issue, and about making the community a better place for all?

We are all affected by politics regardless of whether we vote or not, and we live with the consequences of our collective choices. Our decisions matter and elections are where our voices can be heard. Please exercise your democratic right to elect our government representatives.