Skip to content

The Monitor Progressive news, views and ideas

Vote like a geezer and change Canada's future

October 19, 2015

0-minute read

An 11th-hour message to voters aged 18–30: in this election, you've got the power.

There are more young people (18–30) in Canada in 2015 (6.33 million) than people aged 65+ (5.78 million). Your involvement in politics could change the future of Canada.

The problem is, 18- to 30-year-olds vote like they’re almost 90. Not even half of you make it to the ballot box. Compare that to Canada’s seniors (65+), about three-quarters of whom vote. Why let them set the political agenda?

voterturnout1

voterturnout1b

It would be so easy to make your mark. There were more non-voters than voters in the last (2011) federal election. Most of them were... you! What do you think this chart would look like if three-quarters of 18- to 30-year olds voted?

make_difference

Take 20 minutes out of your day, go vote.

Armine Yalnizyan is a senior economist at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, and business columnist for CBC Radio’s Metro Morning. You can follow her on Twitter @ArmineYalnizyan.

Topics addressed in this article

Related Articles

Canada’s fight against inflation: Bank of Canada could induce a recession

History tells us that the Bank of Canada has a 0% success rate in fighting inflation by quickly raising interest rates. If a pilot told me that they’d only ever attempted a particular landing three times in the past 60 years with a 0% success rate, that’s not a plane I’d want to be on. Unfortunately, that looks likes the plane all Canadians are on now.

Non-viable businesses need an"off-ramp"

Throughout the pandemic, many small- and medium-sized businesses have weathered the storm, thanks to federal government help. In his deputation to Canada's federal Industry Committee, David Macdonald says it's time to give those businesses an "off-ramp".

Truth bomb: Corporate sector winning the economic recovery lottery; workers falling behind

This isn’t a workers’ wage-led recovery; in fact, inflation is eating into workers’ wages, diminishing their ability to recover from the pandemic recession. Corporate profits are capturing more economic growth than in any previous recession recovery period over the past 50 years.