Young voters engaged in election, but ‘disenchanted’ by parties, experts say
2025-04-25T09:09:09Z
As many as 80 per cent of young voters are aware that a national election is underway, but there is ‘a sense of dysfunctional government’ that is driving them to engage in politics outside of the traditional party structures.
When it comes to the federal election around the corner, not everyone is anticipating another drop in youth turnout — some youth engagement and democracy experts and advocates anticipate an increase in young voters compared to previous elections. However, some say young people are disenchanted in party politics and that parties ought to include their concerns to mobilize the generation.
According to Elections Canada, 47 per cent of voters between ages 18 and 24 cast their ballot in the 2021 election, a seven percentage point decline from the 54 per cent turnout in 2019.
It may take more than a sense of civic duty to get young people out to the polls for the upcoming federal election.
“There isn’t apathy and an unwillingness to vote. There’s a strong willingness to take action on the issues (young people) care about and make sure they do vote.”
“We know from previous elections that more than 50 per cent of the young people we talk to often don’t realize an election is happening at all,” Munday told Canada’s National Observer. “For this election, it’s 70 to 80 per cent who do know an election is happening.
Amanda Munday, executive director of New Majority, an advocacy group working to increase youth voter engagement across Canada, said the organization’s engagement strategies have reached around 200,000 young people across the country in this election. One thing Munday said she noticed this election cycle is young people’s increased level of awareness.
Jon Pammett, a retired professor at Carleton University whose research previously contributed to voter turnout reports for Elections Canada, said he expects young people are more likely to vote this time around because of “issues important to them.”
Experts and advocates note that young people may be engaged and aware of the 2025 federal election underway, but many are “disenchanted” by party politics.
Those issues may not be that different from what brings out older voters.
“I don’t think the issues for young people in this election are any different from issues related to the population in general,” Pammett said, citing finding jobs, housing affordability and the trade war with the United States as the biggest issues.
According to an online survey from market research company Leger, 64 per cent of survey respondents between ages 18 and 34 said “definitely yes” and 23 per cent said “probably yes” when asked if they were planning to vote in the election. Just four per cent said, definitively, that they would not vote.
“If we don’t vote for somebody that will prioritize our voices, put us at the forefront and consider young people in their platforms, we’re not standing for much. – Jaden Braves
University of Ottawa professor Joel Westheimer, who studies democracy and education, said that while it isn’t the case across the board, some young people are “disenchanted with party politics.”
“There is a sense of dysfunctional government that can’t get things done,” Westheimer said. He gave as an example governments around the world being “ineffective” at addressing climate change, an issue he says is important to young people.
“Young people have witnessed that their whole lives, and so they’re alienated from that kind of politics and more attracted to other kinds of political engagement.”
Westheimer added that young people are less likely to belong to a specific political party, but more likely to engage in protests and other forms of political action.
Jaden Braves, founder and CEO of non-profit group Young Politicians of Canada, said an openness to listening to young people could help to engage younger generations.
“If parties can look at or even say aloud that they want to engage young voices and they want young people to be motivated to vote for them, that already says a lot,” he said. “It’s difficult to get young voters out for a particular issue, but I think the least anyone can do is put something adjacent to the concerns young people are affected by on their platform and see if that mobilizes people.”
Braves listed cost of living and post-secondary tuition as some of the biggest concerns.
“Youth in Canada are the future of all decisions,” Braves said. “If we don’t vote for somebody that will prioritize our voices, put us at the forefront and consider young people in their platforms, we’re not standing for much.
“We have to show up and ensure we’re electing an individual, or a party, or a group of individuals who have our best interest at heart.”
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