Youth often find themselves engaged with municipal politics about as much as they are engaged with lawn bowling and filing their income taxes.
A lack of younger representation in municipalities across the province leaves a stark disconnect between our politicians, and a generation of disengaged youth who don’t vote.
Apathy amongst voters marks a long-standing trend. Overall turnout in municipal elections has been on a steady decline for the last decade, hitting a dismal low of 38 per cent in 2018, according to the Association of Municipalities Ontario.
The lack of young participation isn’t so much apathy as it is a sense of disengagement with our political process. Young people feel as if their voice isn’t heard by politicians. Part of this comes from a frustration with the inefficiencies and bureaucracy of politics, but the main issue is that most of our local councils have very little, if any, younger representation.
A report published by the Rural Ontario Institute found that 91 per cent of all locally elected officials in Ontario were over the age 40. Almost 40 per cent of Ontario’s eligible voting population is under 40 and is represented by a mere 9 per cent of local seats.
This is not to say that experience shouldn’t be valued and respected among seasoned local officials who can, and have, delivered results for their communities. But the age gap in our municipal politics should never have become this big in the first place.
As long as our municipal governments discourage the younger generation with a lack of representation, it’ll be difficult to convince fresh faces to run and challenge the status quo, precipitating a pre-existing cycle of disengagement and underrepresentation.
For young adults in particular, running for city councilor can be a fulfilling entry-level way to represent their municipality and put themselves at the forefront as a decision-maker in their community. In the vast majority of municipalities across Ontario, the job is still part-time and doesn’t require a complete abandonment of other priorities at work or at home.
Changing our representation starts with changing our mindsets. With young voices at the local level, we can tackle the issues that remain at the forefront of our political conversation, such as housing affordability, social justice and climate change. Our generation has not sat idly by as the world moves on. We’ve been at the forefront of protests, activism and social change in our communities. It’s time we sit at the forefront of municipal politics, too.
Together, let’s work to have our voices heard in communities across this province, and make sure we’re not left out of the equation altogether by turning up to vote or running for election.
[Photo by Spencer Colby/The Charlatan]
