Singh could draw younger voters
Ihave not really had a chance yet to comment on Jagmeet Singh’s victory as leader of the NDP. I was somewhat surprised at the first ballot win that overwhelmingly put Singh into that position. I suppose I should not have been surprised. He is bright and articulate and has political experience in provincial politics but usually leaders of parties do not make such sudden and meteoric rises to the top position of a national party in a such a short time frame.
Parties generally require very long term loyalty and significant name recognition before they anoint the top prize.
So Singh’s win on the first ballot was significant because he beat out federal MPs with long time party loyalty and federal experience.
Singh is the first visible minority person to lead a national political party (although Vivian Barbot did lead the Bloc Québécois as interim leader) and I think his win may have deeper meaning and implications for Canadian politics and parties than is yet apparent.
In order for me to make my case I need to start with a story. When my daughter was young her teacher introduced her class to Craig Keilburger. At twelve years old, Craig was struck by a news story that told of a young boy who had been sold into slave labour and who had escaped from his captors and was then was subsequently shot and killed.
Craig shared the story with his classmates and they formed a group of 12 twelve-year-olds who decided to tackle the problem with vocal activism, letter writing and calls for social justice. What started as a few kids with a passion to make change turned into a movement and a worldwide charitable organization dedicated to the promise of social justice.
My daughter never forgot that day in her classroom and she watched the Free the Children organization develop. The strength of Free the Children is actually that children are its greatest champion and over the years the organization has appealed to the instinct that young people have for social justice to became the backbone of the charity.
Out of Free the Children came the We Day event which is meant to bring together young people to celebrate their achievements and to inspire new calls to action. The We Day events happen in big cities and Craig Keilburger, along with his brother Mark, rally celebri- ties, change makers, and artists to inspire the young crowd and to acknowledge their deeds, actions and commitments.
You can’t buy a ticket to We Day. You have to earn it by demonstrating your commitment to community, locally, nationally and / or internationally.
For many young people an invitation to We Day is a dream come true.
As you have probably guessed by now my daughter’s dream came true this week but so did the dreams of many young people from school districts across northern B.C. The We Day event in Vancouver celebrated the achievements of all the young We Day clubs, leadership clubs, social justice leagues and other school clubs dedicated to making a difference.
I was blessed to be a chaperone and as I stood in Rogers Arena with 20,000 young people who knew when to cheer, when to pause in a moment of silence, when to dance and sing, when to show support for people who struggle with addiction, or loss, or injustice, I thought to myself: “this is what the political parties in this country need to see.”
The GenWe as they call themselves are also Gen Z. These young people are politically aware. They are smart, caring, and they want social justice and gender equality. They are connected through social media and they have been taught by the Keilburgers that they don’t have to wait to make change. They are leaders and innovators and champions and they are twelve. (To be fair they are not all twelve but you get my point).
When Justin Trudeau became leader of the Liberal Party he saw the power of youth but seems intent on focusing on the “middle class.” Now Singh has the chance to engage young people with a message of diversity, hope and reconciliation.
Canadian political parties should be paying attention to this generation and to this type of movement.
As party membership declines, there is no incentive for young people to turn away from these empowering types of social organizations. They will only turn to political parties that know how to engage their enthusiasm and their independence.