The upcoming Canadian elections have shed a significant amount of attention on the political scene in the country. With all the debates, leaked information and dug-up dirt from the past, it is fair to say that the atmosphere is quite tense at the moment. In the weeks leading up to today, we asked a few students what they had to say about this election season.
Seven students from around Memorial were asked how they feel about the upcoming elections and the federal candidates, whether they are going to vote, why there are so many people of voting age who do not vote and how we can change that.
Jack is a second-year student completing his Bachelor of Commerce program. He doesn’t think that Trudeau is going to win because his image is not what it should be as a political figure. Jack mentioned that he is not going to vote, and that young people are not concerned with the political standings of the country since they are often busy trying to organise their own lives.
Rhya is a third-year engineering student who is not impressed with the conservatives or the liberals thus far in the election period. She mentioned that she is going to vote. It is her opinion that people feel as if they can’t make a difference with a single vote and are therefore, unmotivated to go to the polls.
Michaela is in her first year of pursuing a Bachelor of Arts with a major in English. She believes in voting for what is right and not just sitting idle. She mentioned that she has already voted and that young people don’t believe that they can change the economic position of the country. She thinks that increasing the incentives to voting would lead to more young adults being involved.
Simon is a second-year student pursuing archaeology and he is not impressed with any of the federal candidates or the progress of the elections at this point. However, he has already voted and like many of his peers, believes that young people choose often do not participate because they don’t feel like they would bring about a change by voting.
Megan is a fifth-year student pursuing a program in Social Work and she doesn’t have much concern for the upcoming elections. She has already voted, and she believes that people of voting age don’t vote because they don’t think it would make a difference. In addition to this, she believes that there could be a more creative process for voting instead of the routine debates held on the media platforms.
Isaac is a first-year student in an Engineering program. He is going to vote in the elections. Isaac mentioned that most people within the voting age simply don’t care about the elections and the way to change that would be for us to show them the implications of their decision to not vote.
Abdul Rahim is a fourth-year student studying Mechanical Engineering and he is looking forward to the elections and he hopes that the strongest party in favor of the Canadians will win the election. He is planning on putting in his vote and he believes that young people don’t vote because they feel like their opinion doesn’t count.
Now that you’ve heard the opinions of your fellow students here at Memorial, what do you think about the elections?