How Progressives Can Engage Young Canadians in the Election Campaign

When Joe Oliver made his outrageous statement about leaving Harper's granddaughter's generation to pay for the Con's revenue killing tax policies, he only said it because he thought he could get away with it.

Because he knows, like we all do, that a lot of young Canadians don't bother to vote.

And it is fashionable in this aging country to blame the young for that troubling democratic deficit.

But as the crusty Globe editorialists point out, all political parties must also share the blame for not making a serious effort to appeal to them, or involve them in the political process 

Much has been made of the fact that the new federal budget is craftily geared by the Harper government to appeal to specific segments of the voting population. Seniors are getting all kinds of goodies, some designed specifically for their age group and others that are available to all, but which will (nudge nudge wink wink) benefit them the most.

Left off the gravy train are young people. Why? Because they are way less likely to cast a vote than older people are, and they don’t make up as large a share of the population as they used to. By being disengaged, they have now become conveniently ignorable, not just by the government but by the opposition parties, too.

So it is, as I have pointed out many times, a vicious circle.



Left off the gravy train are young people. Why? Because they are way less likely to cast a vote than older people are, and they don’t make up as large a share of the population as they used to. By being disengaged, they have now become conveniently ignorable, not just by the government but by the opposition parties, too.

Which not only favours the Cons because they want as few people to vote, and most young people are progressive. It is tragic for the young, and dangerous for the future of our battered democracy.

The terrible downside to this precision campaigning is that it is training young people not to participate in democracy. We know from the data that young Canadians who don’t vote now probably won’t vote later in life, and yet the message the under-25 crowd is getting in this election is, Your ballot is not needed.

And it couldn't be more depressing.

But the good news is, it doesn't have to be that way. Because as I have also pointed out, I saw with my own eyes what happened in Scotland during the independence referendum...



Where the YES side and the Scottish National Party (SNP) were able to involve young people in the political process, and get them to vote, in numbers never seen before.

And after the referendum most of those young people stayed with the SNP, and have helped make it so popular that it and its leader Nicola Sturgeon could actually form the next British government, in a coalition with the Labour Party. 



And with its anti-austerity and left-wing policies change the face of British politics.  

And the main ways the SNP were able to recruit so many young people were the following:

(1) They lowered the voting age to 16 as they now doing for those voting for the Scottish Parliament. 

Because the sooner you get them voting, the greater the chance they will keep on voting.

(2) By using social media in new and creative ways to reach out to them, by holding small grass roots meetings in the places they hang out. And making them feel like their views counted.

(3) By creating a movement, with a vision of a new kind of society, rather than a mere political organization. Because for a number of reasons, ranging from a distrust of authority to identity politics, young people today are more attracted to movements than they are to political parties.

More attracted to a bold progressive vision, than the petty haggling over smaller issues, or the old style of ward heeler politics. 

As this report from the Broadbent Institute recently pointed out.(PDF)

Due to the differences in attitudes between young and older Canadians, the mobilization of a large number of young voters during the 2015 federal election could transform the Canadian electorate and change the types of issues that are talked about on the campaign trail. Putting forth a bold vision to appeal to young people could be the key to ushering a new and progressive era of Canadian politics.

And in Scotland so successful have the SNP been in recruiting young people with their bold vision, that they are now using them to reach out to older voters.

As you can see in this SNP video...



Which is not only a good idea, it is also something we need to do here, because as the Globe points out, older Canadians are the growing demographic:

Back in the 80s, people over 65 made up 10 per cent of the population. Today, they make up 16 per cent – one in six. And, for the first time, there are now more Canadians aged 55-64 than there are aged 15-24. Thirty years ago, the younger cohort was twice the size of the older one.

And the older they are the more they vote for the Cons.

But to me, the main lesson of all of this is that if it can be done in Scotland, it can be done here. 

And the best way we can inspire more younger and older Canadians to vote for progressive parties is to turn the next election into a movement to save Canada.

Like this one...



Because that is what the next election is really all about. 

Not about who is going to get the biggest slice of the tax pie, or the niggling over the slight differences between the progressive parties.

But how can we get rid of the ghastly Con regime and it's monstrous leader, who are KILLING our country.

And as I keep repeating it really is a question of going big or going home.

I've got a few ideas to share with you, and I would be interested in hearing yours.

But right now all I want to say is, don't write young people off. Engage them.

And the future will belong to us...

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