ssues & ideas EDITOR SCOTT FORBES THE VOICE, THURSDAY, NOV. 3, 2016 7 Taking the pulse of youth voters How the changing political landscape in Canada and the U.S. 1s affecting young voters JAKE WRAY photo Justin Trudeau addresses the crowd at a campaign stop in South Vancouver during the lead up to the federal election in 2015. Youth engaging more in politics Youth vote up 18.3 per cent in last year’s federal election, but some experts say the rise may be a blip VOTING facts 1 53.8% of Canadi- ans voted in 2011, the second-lowest turnout in history. 2 In a poll of non- voters, 54% said they would vote if they could do it online. 3 Non-voters in Australia face a AU$20 fine. Source: conferenceboard.ca By TANNER BOKOR ter apathy among youth in Cana- da is on the decline as young peo- ple are finding new ways to en- gage in the political process. According to Elections Canada, in the last Canadian federal election, youth voter turnout increased 18.3 per cent from 38.8 per cent of registered voters aged 18-24 in 2011 to 57.1 per cent. Total voter turnout also increased by 7.6 per cent to 66.1 of eligible Canadian voters. Terri Evans, an urban studies profes- sor at Simon Fraser University, says the way that millennials engage with civics isn’t necessarily in the form of casting a ballot. “Young people participate in other ways that are beyond the ballot box that give them more of a sense of connection with their effort and the result, that gives them a sense of immediacy, that they might rally for specific causes that they may see as really urgent to them- selves,” Evans said. “T think that will eventually translate to participation at the ballot box, but some of this will come with the life cy- cle,” she said. In a report by Samara Canada - a non-profit group that encourages public engagement in the democratic process - youth voter apathy in Canada is on the decline. According to the group’s re- search conducted after the 2015 federal election, 92 per cent of youth aged 18-29 felt that they had a stake in the issues being discussed, and, for 49 per cent of respondents, that they had a social obli- gation to vote. David Moscrop, a UBC PhD candidate in political science, says the turnout this cycle is more of a bump than a trend, and that we should expect turnout to cool in the next election. “Change elections inspire people, they mobilize people. Status quo elec- tions don’t,” Moscrop said. “The more comfortable people are with the state of their democracy; you’d expect that turn- out would be reflected higher. But actu- ally, they tend to stay home, as they con- sider that the stakes are lower.” U.S. election raises stu- dent interest Canadians are engaged in the U.S. election, and it’s raising their interest in politics north of the border By CLARE HENNIG tial election is increasing Canadi- an students’ interest in politics. As Donald Trump and Hillary Clin- ton battle for the U.S. presidency, Cana- dian students are engaged in the enter- taining and controversial race. Paul Prosperi, head of the political science department at Langara, said it seems there is more awareness of U.S. politics than Canadian politics amongst students at Langara. “One hopes that Canadians’ interest in politics in the United States helps in- crease awareness of political issues and perhaps interest in our own politi- cal system,” Prosperi said. Prosperi conducted a short poll in his introductory class to gauge aware- ness amongst his students of U.S. poli- tics compared to Canadian politics. “T asked my students to name the leader of the opposition in this country or name the leader of any of the other major parties,” he said. “Everybody started laughing. No- body had any difficulty in this class pointing out who the Republican nomi- nee was for president or the Democrat- ic nominee.” The issues brought up in the US. campaign debates are relevant and im- portant to citizens on both sides of the border. John Bay, a second-year accounting student at Langara who just moved back to Canada from California, said he is affected by local issues such as hous- ing and plans to vote in next May’s pro- vincial election. “lve been away for six years and it’s scary to live here. I was born and raised here but I can’t afford to live here.” Bay says U.S. politics are entertain- ing, but Canadian issues are more per- tinent to him even if the politics are “boring.” Te: upcoming American presiden- Broken vows cause voter remorse Some disgruntled voters feel Trudeau not doing enough in his first year in power By JESSICA PURVER ment won a majority in the federal election, voters have mixed feel- ings about the future of Canada’s politi- cal landscape. Of the 219 promises made by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his cabinet in their first year in power, only 34 have been met. While he has made gains in welcoming Syrian refugees and advo- cating for women’s rights, implement- ing imported gun regulations and other promises have gone unmet so far. For Langara pre-med biology student and NDP voter Jessica Adamson, these broken promises hit home. “IT wanted Harper out,” she said. “The promises that Trudeau and his govern- ment were making were something that 0: year after the Liberal govern- I thought he believed in.” Adamson said she no longer trusts the current Liberal government. In ad- dition to moving forward with construc- tion of Site C in northeastern B.C., she said Trudeau hasn’t addressed issues like the diesel oil spill in the Heiltsuk Nation, or the lack of funding for First Nations health and education initia- tives. “At least when Harper was in govern- ment people were very critical and paid attention to what he was doing,” she said. “But with Justin, people dismiss it and don’t look above the surface.” Christine Fedusiak, a Liberal voter and aboriginal studies student at Langa- ra, was initially attracted to Trudeau’s progressive standpoint,. “Tt’s supposed to be the people’s gov- ernment,” she said. “And it seems like people aren’t happy.” When if came to indigenous rights and pipelines, Fedusiak would like to see professional mediation involved. “These are broken treaties and bro- ken promises and the government is trying to reconcile with aboriginal peo- ple, and they’re doing the opposite.” Despite this, Fedusiak believes Trudeau’s advocacy of feminism and health care funding are good first steps. “T think Canada takes a long time to move [and] everything is slow,” she said. “But changes happen.” Langara grad Matthew Houben is am- bivalent. “We live in a lesser-of-two- evils system,” he said. “Anyone of Lib- eral leanings criticizing Trudeau should just remember how they felt two years ago as a kind of balm, [but] that doesn’t mean he shouldn’t be criticized.” Courtesy of JESSICA ADAMSON Hereditary chiefs protest for an LNG injunction filing at the Federal Court on Granville Street on Oct. 27.