Section 8. Civic Participation
8.1 Voting
The question of youth electoral participation is becoming increasingly important as a focus of research, both in Canada and internationally. Elections Canada has contributed to the understanding of this issue through internal research and by commissioning academic studies1. Findings indicate that young people vote at rates that are significantly lower than those of older generations, both in Canada and abroad. In addition, today's youth are not showing signs of becoming more likely to vote as they age. Moreover, each successive generation appears to be less inclined to vote than its predecessors. Together, these trends suggest the recent declines in overall voter turnout will continue into the future.
The reasons for declining turnout among young people are many. Low levels of political interest and knowledge, a declining sense that voting is a civic duty, certain administrative difficulties, and limited contact with political parties and candidates are the most frequently identified factors. Sources for this section have been principally taken from the July 2003 edition of Elections Canada publication, Electoral Insight: Youth Participation in Elections2.
8.1.1 Trends in Youth Turnout
That young people vote at a lower rate than older citizens has been a finding of electoral participation research for some time and has been confirmed by recent studies3. A study by Pammett and LeDuc commissioned by Elections Canada reveals just how large the gap between the youngest and oldest voters has become. They found that turnout in the 2000 general election was only 22% among 18 to 20-year-olds, while among the oldest generations (those over 58), it exceeded 80%.
Figure 8-1: Voting and Not Voting in 2000, by age
Source: Elections Canada. Electoral Insight: Confronting the Problem of Declining Voter Turnout Among Youth. Vol 5, No 2, July 2003.
Until recently, the finding that turnout is lower among youth than among older people was believed to be largely the result of a "life cycle" effect: young people's inclination to vote was found to increase as they aged. Recent studies indicate that not only are young people participating less than their elders, their willingness to participate appears to be declining over time. Another factor is generational replacement. Post-baby boomers made up a quarter (28%) of the electorate in 1988, but accounted for one half (49%) in 2000. Meanwhile, where the pre-baby boomers made up 35% of the electorate in 1988, they represented only 22% in 20004. Research suggests that if nothing is done to halt or reverse this trend, the situation may only become worse over time.
International research indicates that the problem of low youth turnout is not unique to Canada. In an examination of turnout in nine countries in 1996-97, the two most crucial socio-economic determinants of voting were found to be education and age. The gap between the least and the most educated and between the youngest and the eldest was significant at 20 percentage points5. More recently, the United Kingdom Electoral Commission estimated that only 39% of 18 to 24-year-olds voted in the 2001 general election in Great Britain, compared to 70% of those aged 65. It found low youth turnout to be a primary factor explaining the record-setting low overall turnout of just 59% in that election6.
8.1.2 Factors Behind Declining Youth Turnout
The decline in youth participation cannot be attributed simply to political cynicism. In fact, research shows that youth are no more cynical about government or politics than are older people and feelings of negativity were more often cited as reasons for not voting among those over the age of 25 than among those under 25. In fact, youth aged 18 to 27 were significantly less likely than older respondents to agree with statements such as: "People like me do not have much say over what the government does."7 The disengagement of youth appears not to be a conscious decision to turn away from politics but rather a failure to see the importance of political participation, combined perhaps with a belief that traditional politics may not be providing effective mechanisms for translating desire into action8.
Figure 8-2: Main Reasons for Not Voting in 2000 for Youth Aged 18-24
Source: Elections Canada. Electoral Insight: Confronting the Problem of Declining Voter Turnout Among Youth. Vol 5, No 2, July 2003.
Nevertheless, younger respondents are significantly less likely to pay attention to politics and political news than are older Canadians and are also more likely to find politics uninteresting, even boring. When asked to rate their interest in politics generally, on a 0 to 10 scale, respondents born before the Second World War had an average rating of 6.2, compared with only 4.4 for those born since 19709. Research has also found that younger generations were less likely to think that there was "no race" in their constituency and a perceived lack of competitiveness among the parties had no significant impact on the likelihood of voting in the 2000 election for youth.
"Administrative or personal" problems were cited more frequently by 18 to 24-year-olds than by any other age group except those over 65 on why they did not vote in 2000. These problems include: being too busy, absence from the riding on election day, registration problems, illness, lack of knowledge about when or where to vote and moving-related problems. Limited contact with political parties and candidates was also a frequently identified factor10. They also show that being "on the list" was a significant predictor of turnout in both 1997 and 2000. This confirms a previous analysis, conducted by Elections Canada, which found that receiving a correct voter information card was positively related to both age and turnout in the 2000 election.
8.1.3 Participation in Political Parties
Membership to a political party is not common for Canadian youth. In 2001, the average age of party members were 5911. The appeal of party politics may be absent from the younger population due to the greater levels of negativity towards politicians and government than their older counterparts.
The majority, 98%, of Canadians aged 18 to 27, reported that they had never been a member of a political party, and highlights that younger Canadians were pursuing political movements over political parties12.
Activism is creating a new political space and has become a form of citizenship as it shifts to a more mainstream form of participation. Activism can take many forms, and young people are "living" their politics, meaning that the younger generations are making political statements not only through attitudes but also through consumption choices13. Younger generations are gravitating to activism rather than traditional party structures because of its direct action focus, and the potential for impact on everyday life. In 2000, 19% of 18 to 34 year olds stated they have attended a lawful demonstration, and 60% would attend14.
8.2 Volunteering
While youth lag older age categories in voting, youth aged 15 to 19 years of age were the most likely to be involved in volunteer activities15. In 2000, volunteerism among Canadian youth changed in nature and focus. The percentage of young people aged 15 to 24 who volunteered declined to 29% from 33% in 1997. However, these volunteers gave more hours on average (130 hours versus 125 in 1997). Almost one in five (18%) of youth volunteers stated that some or all of the hours they contributed were required by their school, employer or the government as part of the requirement for community service hours.
| Table 5: Volunteerism by age, 1997 and 2000 |
| |
Percentage of Volunteers
(%) |
Hours Volunteered
(during the year) |
| Age |
1997 |
2000 |
1997 |
2000 |
| 15-24 |
33 |
29 |
125 |
130 |
| 25-34 |
28 |
24 |
133 |
131 |
| 35-44 |
37 |
30 |
142 |
153 |
| 45-54 |
35 |
30 |
157 |
158 |
| 55-64 |
30 |
28 |
160 |
181 |
| 65+ |
23 |
18 |
202 |
269 |
Source: Statistics Canada. Caring Canadians, Involved Canadians: Highlights from the 2000 National Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating. 2001: 71-542-XIE
Youth may be more likely to volunteer as a way of obtaining employment skills and because community service is a required prerequisite to graduation from high school in many provinces. The main types of activities that Canadian youth volunteers participated in 2000 included: organizing and supervising events (53%), fundraising or campaigning (39%), teaching or coaching (34%), counselling (29%), and unpaid board or committee member (26%). Many young people also contribute to their communities through formal and informal volunteer activities. In 2000, close to three-quarters of a million Canadians aged 15 to 19, or 37% of the total youth population, contributed their time to a charitable or non-profit organization. Overall, young volunteers aged 15 to 19 spent an average of 2.6 hours per week working on behalf of non-profit groups or organizations in 2000.
Youth are more likely to volunteer to improve their job opportunities (55% versus 16% for non youth volunteers), to explore their own strengths (71% versus 54%) and because their friends were volunteers (42% versus 28%).
8.3 Charitable Donations
The likelihood of making a charitable donation and the amount donated are influenced by a variety of factors, including the financial capacity to give, values and attitudes related to giving, and opportunities to give16. As a result, charitable giving tends to vary across the population with age and sex. For Canadian youth, both the percentage of youth making charitable donations and the dollar amount donated have increased from 1997 to 2000.
| Table 6: Donations by age, 1997 and 2000 |
| |
Donating Rate
(%) |
Average Dollars Donated
(during the year) |
Median Dollars Donated
(during the year) |
| Age |
1997 |
2000 |
1997 |
2000 |
1997 |
2000 |
| 15-24 |
59 |
64 |
79 |
118 |
20 |
25 |
| 25-34 |
78 |
77 |
159 |
229 |
55 |
65 |
| 35-44 |
84 |
86 |
258 |
252 |
83 |
78 |
| 45-54 |
83 |
83 |
291 |
338 |
105 |
100 |
| 55-64 |
83 |
81 |
313 |
316 |
108 |
100 |
| 65+ |
80 |
77 |
328 |
308 |
140 |
101 |
Source: Statistics Canada. Caring Canadians, Involved Canadians: Highlights from the 2000 National Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating. 2001: 71-542-XIE
While the percentage of Canadians making donations to charitable and non-profit organizations increases with age until mid-life and declines thereafter, youth are contributing at a higher rate than in the past. It is also important to note that the donation rate increases with income, and youth in this age cohort also have the lowest income of all cohorts. Even though Canadian youth are the least likely to be donors, notable in 2000 were the large increases in the average annual donations among those aged 15 to 24 (from $79 to $118).
1 To view the literature, refer to the Elections Canada - Young Voters website, available: http://www.elections.ca/content_youth.asp?section=yth&dir;=res/gen/pub&document;=res_gen_pubs_youth⟨=e&textonly;=false.
2 Elections Canada. Electoral Insight: Youth Participation in Elections. July, 2003: vol. 5, no. 2. ISSN: 1488-3538, available at: www.elections.ca.
3 Notable among recent Canadian studies are: André Blais, Elisabeth Gidengil, Richard Nadeau and Neil Nevitte, Anatomy of a Liberal Victory: Making Sense of the 2000 Canadian Election (Peterborough, Ontario: Broadview Press, 2002); and Neil Nevitte, André Blais, Elisabeth Gidengil and Richard Nadeau, Unsteady State: The 1997 Canadian Federal Election (Don Mills: Oxford University Press, 2000). See also Jon H. Pammett, "Youth in the Electoral Process", Electoral Insight Vol. 3, No. 1 (January 2001).
4 Blais et al. (2002), p. 49.
5 André Blais, To Vote or Not to Vote: The Merits and Limits of Rational Choice Theory (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press, 2000), p. 52.
6 The Electoral Commission, Voter Engagement and Young People, p. 6.
7 Brenda O'Neill, "Generational Patterns in the Political Opinions and Behaviour of Canadians," Policy Matters Vol. 2, No. 5 (October 2001).
8 O'Neill, p. 32. Note that Blais et al. (2002) also find that cynicism is less pronounced among the young than among older Canadians. However, an Elections Canada analysis of youth electoral participation in the 2000 general election (unpublished, 2001) finds that cynicism is highest among the youngest and oldest age groups, declining somewhat during mid-life.
9 Blais et al. (2002), p. 52. See also the Centre for Research and Information on Canada (CRIC), Voter Participation in Canada: Is Canadian Democracy in Crisis? CRIC Papers, No. 3 (October 2001).
10 Blais et al. (2002), p. 58.
11 Please note that the following section has been sourced from D-Code research, and defines young people as aged fifteen to thirty-four. D-Code. Cittizen Re: Generation: Understanding Active Citizen Engagement Among Canada's Information Age Generations. (Funded by: Human Resources Development Canada (now HRSD), Canadian Heritage, Communication Canada and Labatt Breweries). Toronto, 2003 (p.52): ISBN 1-55401-062-4
12 D-Code. Cittizen Re: Generation: Understanding Active Citizen Engagement Among Canada's Information Age Generations. Toronto, 2003 (p.52): ISBN 1-55401-062-4
13 D-Code. Cittizen Re: Generation: Understanding Active Citizen Engagement Among Canada's Information Age Generations. Toronto, 2003 (p.52): ISBN 1-55401-062-4
14 D-Code. Cittizen Re: Generation: Understanding Active Citizen Engagement Among Canada's Information Age Generations. Toronto, 2003 (p.52): ISBN 1-55401-062-4
15 The section has been solely sourced from: Statistics Canada, Caring Canadians, Involved Canadians: Highlights from the 2000 National Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating. 2001: Catalogue No. 71-542-XIE.
16 The section has been solely sourced from: Statistics Canada, Caring Canadians, Involved Canadians: Highlights from the 2000 National Survey of Giving, Volunteering and Participating. 2001: Catalogue No. 71-542-XIE.
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