University students who are eligible to vote in Ontario will have the chance to cast their ballots in the upcoming provincial election on Feb. 27.
Ontario voters will decide which party to task on the files of affordability, education, health care, housing and transportation, among other issues.
Students can vote if they are 18 years of age or older, a Canadian citizen and a resident of Ontario. Ontario students living away from home may either return home and vote in the electoral district for their permanent home address or vote in the electoral district of their address while attending school.
Students can search for their electoral district by postal code here.
If students receive a voter card in the mail, they must bring any one piece of accepted ID to vote. Students who do not receive a voter card must bring an accepted ID that displays both their name and home address.
What issues are students concerned about?
Carleton University students told the Charlatan their main concerns in this election include education, affordability and health care.
“What matters to me is making sure that the needs of the communities I’m part of are taken care of,” said Fay Rushwany, a third-year computer science student.
Rushwany said education and caring for Ottawa’s homeless population are her top concerns in this election.
“I want to pick a candidate that really pushes for being involved in the community,” she said.
Sameer Keldani said health care is one of his biggest concerns. A 28-year-old civil engineering student, Keldani said he’ll be voting for the first time ever in this election.
“Even [being] a first-world country with leading technology and all that, the waiting times that you get in Ottawa [hospitals] are horrendous,” he said.
Health care was also a top priority for second-year law student Jack Conlin.
“I want someone that is going to address two big issues,” Conlin said. “The first is health care, because a large number of Ontarians don’t have access to a family doctor. And the second is our economy and ability to deal with the challenges posed by the Trump presidency.”
Some students, like Rushwany, said they are stuck between candidates and feeling conflicted on their vote because of the location of their riding.
“There’s a difference between how I want to vote and how I feel like I should vote for my specific area,” said Rushwany, who will vote in a smaller suburban riding. “I’m probably going to vote in a way that I feel will bring the best candidate to my specific area.”
What are the parties’ platforms?
Students should do their research on the candidates in their riding and the party leaders before voting, according to representatives from the Carleton University Young Liberals, Carleton University New Democrats and the Carleton Greens Club.
The Carleton Campus Conservatives did not respond to the Charlatan’s request for comment.
The Ontario Liberal Party has promised to eliminate interest on loans from the Ontario Student Assistance Program. In addition, the Liberals promised to reduce universities’ reliance on international students’ tuition through more funding and by capping international student enrolment at 10 per cent at all Ontario colleges and universities.
The party has also promised to connect everyone in the province with a family doctor within four years, take provincial responsibility over Ottawa’s light rail system and extend the train’s connections to Kanata and Barrhaven.
Mario Bertrand, an executive member of Carleton’s Young Liberals, said young people and the Liberals have been pushing for more investment in housing.
“I think both the [Liberal] provincial and federal parties have really represented that and I think continue to put a good platform down of realistic values and policies,” Bertrand said.
To address housing issues, the Liberals said they would eliminate some costs of developing middle-class housing and introduce phased-in rent control.
For students, the Ontario NDP has promised to keep domestic tuition fees frozen, eliminate interest from existing student loans and turn student loans into grants.
The party also said it will fund 50 per cent of operating costs for municipal transit services.
“Transit in general is a huge issue, especially when you wait out in the cold right now for 30 minutes for a bus that doesn’t show up,” said Gabriel Trozzi-Stamou, co-chair of Carleton’s New Democrats.
On the issue of housing, the NDP promised to crack down on rent control loopholes and renovictions. It has also pitched Homes Ontario, which it calls the “largest home-building program in Ontario’s history.” The initiative aims to build or acquire at least 300,000 affordable rental homes.
“We’ve had decades and decades of governments that didn’t build truly affordable housing … We know that that doesn’t work for students, but it also doesn’t work for regular, everyday working people,” Trozzi-Stamou said.
The Green Party of Ontario has promised to waive tuition for in-demand programs, convert student loans to grants for middle and lower-income students and eliminate interest on student debt. The party also said it would build two million new homes in 10 years and introduce rent control and other measures designed to combat unjust evictions.
Emma Cantlon, president of the Carleton Greens Club, said she thinks Simon Beckett, the Greens’ candidate in Ottawa Centre, shares concerns with most students about improving the province’s health, mental health and addiction services.
“Health care is just egregious,” Cantlon said. “Those are the top things that Simon is promoting in his campaign.”
The Greens have promised to recruit 3,500 more doctors and 2,500 more nurses by 2030 and cover all mental health and addiction costs under the Ontario Health Insurance Plan.
The Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario promised to add $1 billion to a skills development program designed to help workers adjust their skill sets to potential U.S. tariffs, but have not yet made any promises regarding education.
For transit, the party also promised to take provincial responsibility for Ottawa’s light rail transit system. For health care, the PCs promised to launch a program designed to connect everyone in the province with a primary care practitioner.
More details on voting can be found on the Elections Ontario website or the Carleton University page.
Featured image by Sophia Laporte.
