Voter education, the heart of Canadian democracy

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/04/2025 (183 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

On Nov. 4, 2024, 49.8 per cent of voting Americans cast a ballot against their own interests.

Today, one of the common threads among their voting populace is, “I voted for Trump, but I didn’t vote for this.”

We should need no starker warning to understand that there is something seriously wrong with democratic voters in the current age.

One can certainly blame the poisons of social media, the lies and manipulations from extremist media outlets, or the disingenuous spin of politicians. However, one cannot escape the simple fact that Donald Trump was explicit about his intentions throughout his entire campaign and the four years prior.

The ancient Greek philosophers were petrified of democracy, not because they didn’t believe in the institution of democracy but because they feared the adopted bliss of ignorance and the adoration of demagogues.

They knew that without proper guardrails to ensure citizens were fully educated on an issue or platform, such a system would ultimately lead to its own downfall and the rise of dictatorship.

As Canadians, we should not consider ourselves immune to this inherent flaw in our system. While a parliamentary and prime ministerial system is far superior and more secure than a presidential system, it still has one fatal flaw: voters are generally reluctant to educate themselves.

Too many voters now trust messaging without question and fail to apply basic critical thinking and fact-based research to claims and platforms. Most worrying is people’s complete devotion to the party.

A party system can provide some critical protections against autocracy. Still, it has an inherent weakness: It limits one’s ability to maintain proper objectivity and reflect on all viable choices.

The simple fact that today’s members of Parliament seem unwilling or unable to speak their minds and question their leaders during sessions, and the regularity of Canadian voters feeling comfortable declaring they would only ever vote for one particular party, demonstrates that we, too, are vulnerable to the same loyalty issues that have befallen the Republican Party in the U.S.

Our country has too many people with hereditary and unconditional loyalty to party.

For our democracy to survive long-term, each of us must make a pointed effort to read each party’s platform and determine what we think are the best policies for our province, our country, and, lastly, ourselves.

Most importantly, we must be willing to vote for any party, regardless of name, based on the validity of their policies and the potential impact on others.

It is never appropriate to hear a reflective voter say, “I didn’t think it would affect me!”

This implies that it is OK for the government to hurt others so long as they are spared injurious policies.

In a democracy, we rise and fall together. We must always seek a proper redistribution of wealth and strong fiscal policies to support each citizen’s right to personal growth, health, and security.

Most critically, we must openly consider the perspectives of others, be open to the idea that we might be wrong, and be willing to change our historical voting patterns.

As we approach April 28, I would urge all voters to read each party’s platforms, educate themselves on how effective these policies have been in other countries, consider the impacts of their vote on others, and trust that the parties intend to follow through on their commitments unless there is cause to think otherwise.

Our constitution and all Charter of Rights and Freedoms provisions must be defended, and any suggestion for using the notwithstanding clause in a non-emergency categorically refuted.

Democracy cannot stand in ignorance but can be strengthened through knowledge.

Thus, it is up to each of us to rise up through a process of deliberation and thoughtful, critical thinking to arrive at the choice each of us believes is the best choice for our country and society above all else.

Stephen Axworthy has been a municipal councillor for six years and is an active social studies teacher in rural Manitoba.