Regina’s election may not draw huge crowds
Academic says voters could be happy with status quo or are not engaged
Though voter turnout was up during advance polling, it’s unlikely the same will be said after Wednesday’s municipal election.
At least, that’s the view of University of Regina history professor Raymond Blake, who has been following the city’s election campaign.
He points to a few reasons why: Candidates aren’t engaging voters; citizens are likely satisfied with the status quo; and municipal politics is viewed as boring or unimportant.
About 7,300 people voted in advance polls last week; during the 2012 election, 5,500 people voted in advance.
“We hope that it means there’s more engagement going on,” said chief returning officer Jim Nicol.
But really, he adds, it just means more people took advantage of five convenient voting locations — among them, two major shopping centres: “People are going there all the time.”
In the last civic election, 33 per cent of 157,269 eligible voters turned up to the polls. That’s dismal by comparison with the 53.5-per-cent voter turnout in April’s provincial election, and the 71 per cent of Saskatchewan voters who cast a ballot federally a year ago.
Blake, who studies election outcomes, expects Regina’s voter turnout will be consistent with the last municipal election.
“If you look at the five candidates who are running for mayor, there’s not a heck of a lot that separates one from the other,” said Blake. “They all want better sidewalks and they want better streets … They’re all talking about revitalizing the downtown. “There’s no real excitement.” A century ago, the issues surrounding elections were more polarizing, said Blake. There was talk about installing streetcars, communications networks and electricity.
“People were really divided on those issues,” said Blake. But today, “Probably we’re satisfied.”
There may also be a view of “whoever gets in, it won’t make any difference.”
People are interested in elections when substantive change is on the line, Blake said.
In any case, Canadians generally see municipal government as lesser than federal or provincial.
“I think when people look at the cities and municipal governments, they don’t see the same urgency, even though they’re extremely important in the services that they provide,” said Blake. “We see them as weak and unimportant.”
Further, the nature of municipal politics makes it difficult for candidates to connect with voters, as individuals usually run their own campaigns and there is no party to back them.