Return of on-campus early voting spurs hopes more ballots will be cast by young adults

On-campus early voting, cancelled during the last federal election, is returning to Manitoba next week, and after a dip in the number of young people who cast their ballots in 2021, it's hoped more Canadians between 18 and 24 will go to the polls this time. 

Polling stations at Red River College Polytechnic, the University College of the North, the University of Manitoba and the University of Winnipeg will be open from April 13 to 16.

Elections Canada says anyone can vote on one of the participating campuses, including students, who can cast their ballots using the address they consider home or where they regularly live, as long as they show an ID with that address.

Dule Vicovac, a 19-year-old student at the University of Winnipeg, is planning to vote for the first time in a Canadian federal election.

"I am not satisfied with the current state of Canada and how it's progressing," he said. "If I don't vote I am not contributing to any change."

Soban Faiz, another student at the U of W, said he is doing his homework, reviewing the different party platforms ahead of casting his ballot, 

"I went to the Pierre Poilievre rally, went to the Mark Carney rally, met a bunch of candidates, asked them what they were going to do," he said. "They are very accessible in the election." 

WATCH | Students ready to cast ballots as on-campus voting returns: 

Students ready to cast ballots as on-campus voting returns

5 days ago

Duration 2:24

Advance voting is returning to campuses next week. It wasn't offered during the last federal election, in 2021, due to the pandemic. Now, some young voters in Manitoba are determined to make an impact, with many casting ballots for the first time.

Young voter turnout peaked during the 2015 federal election, with Canadians between 18 and 24 accounting for the largest increase in any age group. 

According to Elections Canada, over half a million more young Canadians cast their ballots during that election compared to 2011. 

But in the last two elections, the voter turnout slipped and the number of young voters fell at a rate greater than the overall turnout both times.

Data from Election Canada shows 46 per cent of voters between 18 and 24 went to the polls in 2021 —down from 53 per cent in 2019. 

"It is my hope, ambition and complete focus that we will see youth voters turnout to go up in this election," said Amanda Munday, the executive director of New Majority, a nonpartisan group addressing youth voter turnout. 

While the decline started after 2015, Munday said the COVID-19 pandemic played a role in bringing the number of youth voters down in the last election, including with the suspension of on-campus voting. 

Munday expects the youth turnout to increase this year, in part because polling stations are back at post-secondary institutions, but also due to other factors.

"There's lots of reasons why young people would know more about a federal election," she said.

For instance, on social media, the election is tied to other topics that already have a strong presence in the feed of young voters.

"Canadian sovereignty, the 51st state and annexation conversation is coming up a lot," she said. "Once you start engaging with that, it makes sense to me that the algorithm might serve federal election content." 

One of the issues raised with social media is information voids, where the scarcity of reliable content opens up the space for poor-quality information to flow in, said Heidi Tworek, a Canada Research Chair and professor of public policy at the University of British Columbia. 

Tworek said researchers have found misinformation isn't only lurking in public feeds but in the more private side of social media, including popular messaging apps.

"WeChats, Telegrams, WhatsApps … that's actually a huge space," she said.

However, while online misinformation content exists, Tworek said researchers "don't always see evidence that it's really changing the election results."

"People don't ultimately make their decision on who they vote for based on one or two pieces of information," she added.

Political ads and other content related to the election featured on social media, Tworek said, are also either cementing voters' choices about how to cast their ballots, or swaying their likelihood to go out and vote.

"But it's not ultimately deciding who becomes prime minister," she said.