You say you want a revolution

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/02/2015 (4167 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Oh young people — they really think they have invented everything. Sex. Drugs. Cynicism about politics. Unfortunately, it’s not so.

Brigette DePape, the 20-something former Senate page who garnered headlines for holding up a “Stop Harper” sign before being escorted out of the Senate and subsequently fired in 2011, spoke at the Free Press News Café Wednesday to talk about youth voting and their cynicism.

 

DePape is now with the Council of Canadians working on encouraging 20-somethings to become active in politics. She says many young people are feeling “powerless, disconnected and a distrust for the political system… because it’s not speaking to us.”

Welcome to reality. Most of us feel that way.

And yes, I know I am old and prone to telling kids to turn the music down and hitch their pants up, but let’s face it, countless polls have indicated Canadians increasingly feel cynical about their politicians and distrust toward the political process. Many have responded by turning to grassroots protests such as Occupy or Idle No More to organize and get their point of view across.

And while youth may feel they have a special corner because their needs aren’t being addressed by the cold-hearted meanies in the House of Commons, they shouldn’t expect things to change, just because young people suddenly vote. The reason? They don’t have the numbers. Statistics Canada reports about 20 per cent of Canadians are between 20 and 34 years of age. More than 31 per cent are between 35 and 54 years of age. Another 23 per cent are 55 and older. Youth are really a pretty small demographic overall.

Numbers-wise, on Wednesday DePape suggested 1.8 million young people didn’t vote in the last election. But when you put that into context, overall, 10 million Canadians registered to vote didn’t take the time to place an X beside the candidate of choice and actively participate in democracy. Youth are a small fraction of those disenfranchised.

Why don’t people vote? Numerous surveys report people have said they don’t vote because they don’t think it will make a difference or they don’t feel they have enough information to vote, or they don’t care enough about politics. Those are the same reasons given whether the non-voter is 19 or 49. Voter apathy is voter apathy — age doesn’t seem to have much of an effect on that.

DePape seems to have a vision of democracy that is utopian. She claims if you do vote, you get the government you want. That’s just flat-out wrong. More than 4.5 million Canadians voted NDP in 2011 and more than 2.7 million voted Liberal. I’m pretty sure they don’t feel like they got the government they voted for. But in a first-past-the-post system, the winner takes all. With just one winner in each riding, half of Canadian voters don’t actually elect anyone. Fair Vote Canada reports that in the 2011 election the votes of seven million Canadians elected no one. Their votes were scrapped. Hardly fair. And for many, hardly democratic.

Moreover, the mere act of voting also does not translate into getting your policy concerns taken seriously. DePape has said with 20-somethings voting, important issues such as youth unemployment, student-loan debt or environmental concerns can then be taken seriously, but again, this suggests only the youth are affected by these issues. Most 20-somethings have a parent who worries about their future. Most 20-somethings have a parent who has contributed to some degree toward their education. All Canadians are affected by the environment. Youth aren’t operating in a bubble by themselves. Their problems are really everyone’s. Yet still, they can be ignored because the current party in power has not made it part of their political agenda.

For DePape, getting young people to vote could cause a revolution in Canada. I think she’s wrong. A revolution would come if we dumped the current electoral system and replaced it with some form of proportional representation where every vote counted and every voter counted as well. This is where the Council of Canadians and DePape should be focusing.

I am impressed with DePape. I cheered her on in 2011 when she stood up in protest, and I was impressed with her dedication to empowering young people on Wednesday when she spoke in the News Café. Her battles are certainly nothing new — they’ve been fought by many of us already. However, the battleground may be changing, and that change could come with a new electoral system.

 

Shannon Sampert is the perspectives and politics editor at the Free Press.

shannon.sampert@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @PaulySigh