What young voters should know on election day

It’s federal election day and Canadians across the country are heading out to the polls.

CityNews is at the Roddick Gates at McGill University, joined by Sam Reusch, executive director at Apathy is Boring, a non-profit organization that promotes democracy with a focus on young people.

CN: First off, what are the priorities for young people in this election? 

SR: “Well, we’ve had volunteers across the country who have been leading street teams and canvassing operations, and what I’m hearing from them is that a lot of the same issues that are concerning older Canadians are also on the minds of young people. So we’re hearing a lot about housing, affordability, also lots of concerns around the sort of tariffs and the trade war and the ongoing issues with the United States at the moment. I think that ultimately, young Canadians are as concerned as older Canadians about these issues. And we know that issues like affordability tend to impact young people disproportionately.”

CN: Why is it especially important to encourage young voters to get out and cast their ballot? 

SR: “Well, we know that first-time voters, that can include young people voting in their first election, or even new Canadians in their first after they get their citizenship, face disproportionate barriers towards turning out and as a result tend to turn out in fewer numbers than Canadians who maybe have voted before. So we often just say people need a little extra encouragement, they need a little help, maybe figuring out how the issues that they care about connect in with the issues that are being discussed in the election. And sometimes it can be as simple as just saying, hey, I really think you should vote and what do you care about and how can I help you do that? Or something as simple as maybe even a social media post might be the thing that gets it. But we’re out there doing everything we can.”

CN: The deadline to vote is fast approaching; the polls close at 9:30 p.m. tonight. Is it too late to register? 

SR: “No, it’s not too late to register. If you, anyone in your life, or even anyone watching this thinks that they cannot vote because they haven’t, they’ve missed a deadline, or anything like that, you have not. So you can go to elections.ca, find your polling place, show up, bring proof of address and a piece of ID, and there’s lots of different options that you can choose from and just go vote. They will help you. It’s simple at the polling station. It’s not scary. It’s a fun process. So enjoy.”

CN: And are there any other events that we should be looking out for tonight? 

SR: “Yes, we’re going to be wrapping up our campaign with an election watch party at Hurley’s Irish Pub. We should be upstairs. So if you’d like to join us, please do. We’ll be there watching the results and waiting to see what the turnout numbers are.”