Y is for Youth Vote

Let's hear it for the youth vote! Let's hear it for the young people who, although they are too young to vote, have been following the election with interest. And let's hear it for those young people who stepped up to serve their fellow citizens in Parliament.

While us more mature folk are whining about the federal election results today, preliminary reports indicate that voter turnout was barely above the all-time low seen in 2008. In Alberta, turnout was reported as being a mere 48%. In other words, fewer than 1 in 2 people in that province exercised their right to vote.

Let me reiterate: fewer than one in two people voted in some parts of Canada. Scandalous!

But there are indications that Canada's youth bolstered voter turnout, particularly during the advance polls over Easter weekend. And we now have several youth who have been elected to Parliament. They include four McGill University students, and a 19-year-old student from Sherbrooke who is the youngest MP ever to be elected in this country. Even if many of the older generation played hooky yesterday, there is hope at least some of our young people are getting involved in the democratic process.

Anyone who heard the hooting and hollering at my house last night must have wondered whether the Canadiens had gotten themselves a second chance at this year's Stanley Cup. No, we weren't watching hockey. My girls were watching the election results on TV. The littlest one is only six, and I'm pretty sure she doesn't understand why her sisters and her parents root for our preferred party. But she wants to be part of the process, and if I look back at myself at six I know that's significant.

Her sisters know more, and are beginning to sort out the issues for themselves. They're still young and prone to following Mama and Daddy's choices, but they try to untangle the issues for themselves too. And at least some of their friends are similarly interested in politics at a rather tender age.

I believe the fact that we discuss politics with them is the key to their interest. We don't relegate them to another room, or tell them not to worry their pretty little heads about such grownup things. We tell them it will be their task one day to choose the nation's leaders. We take them with us when we vote. We have even held mock votes at home and with their youth groups. When kids are invited in, they tend to surprise adults with what they can handle.

And that is my message today, to those folks who think the newly elected NDP members are not going to know A from izzard about being an MP. We've invited them in, now let's give them room to rise to the challenge. We may be pleasantly surprised. In fact, we may find that having a young MP who knows people are waiting for him to fail is better than having a jaded MP who has been around the block enough times to know how to get the best compensation for the least amount of work done.

I'm blogging my way from Z to A in May!
You can find my "Z" posts at Cooking à la Canadienne and the Read Write Up blog on my freelance writing web site.

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