This report was published by Samara Canada.

HERE’S HOW THE AUTHORS DESCRIBE THIS REPORT:

Over the last 30 years, Canadians have watched with concern as voting rates among younger people have declined, with the result that in the 2011 federal election, the majority of young people opted not to cast a vote. If the number of non-voters increases, the legitimacy of Canada’s democratic process may someday be called into question. Besides, if groups of Canadians are not considered to be interested voters, will political parties and leaders prioritize their views during and outside of elections?

The low voting rate among younger Canadians is often viewed as evidence that young people today are more apathetic or lazy than any other generation before. That they don’t care about politics and aren’t interested in the world.

Message Not Delivered debunks these myths. In this report, Samara, Canada’s national charity dedicated to reconnecting citizens to politics, compares political participation and contact rates between citizens and Canadian political leaders across three age groups.

Key Findings:

• Across 18 forms of participation, younger Canadians’ participation rate is 11 percentage points higher, on average, than their older counterparts.
• Almost half of people under 30 in Canada have not been contacted by federal political parties, candidates or MPs, compared to only one-quarter of Canadians 56 and older.
• Contact from political leaders is important: contact is linked to voting and an awareness that political decisions matter. Political parties are well positioned to increase voter turnout.
• Contact matters: among young Canadians who reported contact, 61% agreed that they are ‘œaffected by the decisions made by elected officials ‘œevery day. Of the young Canadians who reported no contact, 22% agreed.