Why aren’t millennials voting?

It is no secret that young Canadians turn out to the polls at a lower rate than other generations.

There are a number of reasons Canadian millennials don’t vote. According to Elections Canada’s 2011 Youth Survey, 30 per cent of surveyed youth did not vote because of competing commitments on election day, such as work, attending school, or looking after a family member or child. According to The Millennial Dialogue Report recently released by the Broadbent Institute, youth expressed that “if they knew more about politics,” they might be more interested in casting a ballot. These findings correlate with those identified in surveys conducted by Apathy is Boring.

Given that youth are voting at a lower rate than their older counterparts, parties and election platforms have tended to overlook Canadian youth and parties don’t allocate political resources to engaging them as voters. By not addressing young Canadians directly, this works to reinforce the lack of youth civic participation in Canada, creating a vicious cycle.

How can we better inspire young Canadians to engage in democracy?

We all have a responsibility to break this cycle and get young people involved in this election. In the weeks ahead, we can engage young people by speaking to them directly, by asking them why they will or will not vote, by sharing practical information on social media, and by helping our siblings, friends or children to make a plan for when, where and how to vote.

Visit Apathy is Boring’s website for shareable resources, practical information, and ways to participate. With the campaign period now underway, we can work to wake the sleeping giant and engage the 5.5 million millennials eligible to vote in the October election — the health of Canadian democracy depends on it. Caro Loutfi, executive director, Apathy is Boring, Montreal