Clicking with youth voters critical in next election

The countdown is on for the 2018 provincial election in Ontario. As political parties prepare to compete for support, what will inspire young people in this election to vote?

The 2015 federal election ignited a passionate response from young Canadians. No doubt motivated by a charismatic leader promising to legalize weed. Elections Canada reported an unprecedented 18-per-cent increase in participation for voters aged 18-24. Turnout for 25- to 34-year-olds also spiked, from 45.1 per cent in the 2011 election to 57.4 per cent in 2015.

Despite accusations of apathy, young Canadians are deeply engaged politically. Our points of interest and chosen actions vary greatly, but our effort is always to improve our surroundings and ourselves.

I’ve been informed that my year of birth categorizes me as a millennial. On behalf of my wholly misunderstood generation, I will say: We are not homogeneous.

Although it is a path for some, few young Canadians are choosing partisan politics as an entry point for political engagement. It is rare for a political party to embody the authenticity that captures the imagination of the young issue-focused voter. Even in recent provincial elections where issues impacting young people were central in party platforms — specifically support for post-secondary students — the messaging was targeted at parents and older Canadians with historically higher voter turnout rates.

According to Erin Tolley, assistant professor in political science at the University of Toronto, research indicates today’s young voters are less motivated by a sense of duty than previous generations. To get their vote, political parties will need to speak directly to young voters with positive and proactive messages on issues that matter to them.

Uniquely positioned to organize campus debates and rock the vote events, student lobby groups have played powerful roles in breaking down campaign rhetoric to inform students of electoral issues that impact them specifically.

With the next provincial election date falling outside of the academic year, student organizations will face barriers in running effective voter mobilization efforts. This will leave a noticeable gap in voter engagement for young people in the upcoming provincial election.

Recognizing that the Jane and Finch neighbourhood had the lowest voter turnout in the GTA in the 2011 election, Osgoode visiting professor Jamil Jivani organized a campaign aimed specifically at that neighbourhood in the 2015 election. The non-partisan effort, called Jane and Finch Votes, went directly into neighbourhoods most campaigns disregarded, citing apathy. Volunteers knocked on doors and organized community events encouraging young people, racialized groups and low-income families to vote.

These types of local grassroots campaigns will play an important role in closing the gap on voter engagement efforts for communities often missed by traditional campaigns.

With more than 79 per cent of Canadians between the ages of 16 and 26 connected on social-media networks, social influencers are powerful allies in building successful campaigns targeted at young people. In the 2015 election, 68 per cent of young people reported looking for political information online, with 40 per cent reporting that they shared political content. This peer-to-peer political engagement plays a powerful role in motivating young voters.

Now will be the time for grassroots issue-based campaigns to partner with social media influencers to develop integrated voter engagement campaigns.

In November 2016, Chance the Rapper laid out the blueprint for millennial get-out-the-vote efforts. He partnered with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) to register voters at each stop on his tour under the campaign banner #StayWokeAndVote.

In Chicago, he put his twist on the traditional rock the vote concert with a #ParadetothePolls, literally marching thousands of young voters to advance polls. He did more than talk about voting. He cultivated a voting culture within his vast and diverse following. This formula, combined with existing Canadian grassroots voter engagement efforts, could make a measurable impact motivating first-time voters. Imagine the line up of Canadian artists, athletes and media personalities poised to actively support these campaigns.

As the countdown to the next provincial election continues, it will be interesting to see which issues emerge as the top motivating factors for young voters, and if political parties will take this emerging voting base seriously in platform development and campaign delivery. Tiffany Gooch is a political strategist at public affairs firms Enterprise and Ensight, secretary of the Ontario Liberal Party Executive Council, and an advocate for increased cultural and gender diversity in Canadian politics.