Voting Behaviour and Habits Within Federal Elections
Standing
Undergraduate
Type of Proposal
Oral Research Presentation
Challenges Theme
Open Challenge
Faculty Sponsor
Lydia Miljan
Proposal
Since 1990, voter turnout in Canadian federal elections has consistently declined. This decline could be explained by age, generational, cultural changes and economic factors such as income. However, there have been certain elections that had a substantial increase in voter turnout such as the 2006 and 2015 elections which both resulted in a new governing political party. Both of these elections saw the winning parties mobilize supporters who were typically absent and refrained from voting, and despite this increase, voter turnout would continue to decline in the following elections. Therefore, this presentation will look at themes such as age, generational replacement, education and income to help explain the reason for the decline in voter turnout. Voting trends and patterns will also be observed from the more recent federal elections starting from 2004 up to the 2021 federal election to get a better understanding of observing these elections. The research will also look at the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals such as Goal 10, reducing inequalities for minorities, racialized and Indigenous communities and the barriers they face when it comes to voting.
Grand Challenges
Viable, Healthy and Safe Communities
Voting Behaviour and Habits Within Federal Elections
Since 1990, voter turnout in Canadian federal elections has consistently declined. This decline could be explained by age, generational, cultural changes and economic factors such as income. However, there have been certain elections that had a substantial increase in voter turnout such as the 2006 and 2015 elections which both resulted in a new governing political party. Both of these elections saw the winning parties mobilize supporters who were typically absent and refrained from voting, and despite this increase, voter turnout would continue to decline in the following elections. Therefore, this presentation will look at themes such as age, generational replacement, education and income to help explain the reason for the decline in voter turnout. Voting trends and patterns will also be observed from the more recent federal elections starting from 2004 up to the 2021 federal election to get a better understanding of observing these elections. The research will also look at the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals such as Goal 10, reducing inequalities for minorities, racialized and Indigenous communities and the barriers they face when it comes to voting.