Robson Valley students cast votes in mock federal election
Abigail Popple, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, RMG
Valemount Secondary and McBride Centennial Elementary were among the over 7,000 schools that participated in Student Vote during the federal election, an initiative that allows students to cast their ballot and practice voting.
The Student Vote program is a valuable opportunity for students to prepare for the responsibilities that come with being a voting citizen, said research and communications specialist Étienne Quintal. Student Vote is one of many programs run by CIVIX, an organization working to promote civic education to Canadian youths.
“The program aims to equip students with the knowledge and the habits of voting,” Quintal said. “That’s going through the motions on voting day, as well as learning about researching your candidates [and] learning a little bit about how parties communicate.”
To that end, Student Vote supplies schools with ballot boxes, ballots, voting screens and “I voted” stickers, as well as free teaching resources to educate students about everything from how Canada’s democracy works to how leader debates are organized.
Students, parents and teachers have told CIVIX that program participants gain more confidence in discussing politics with peers and adults, according to Quintal. He said the program has the added benefit of reminding parents to vote, too, after they see their children participate in a mock election.
Other CIVIX programs include Control F, a media literacy initiative that teaches students how to find credible information online, PoliTalks, a program about how to engage in constructive discussions of politics in the classroom, and Rep Day, a program which brings federal and municipal elected officials into schools to engage with students, Quintal said.
While the program does not collect data on rural schools in particular, organizers work to make the Student Vote program available to every school in the country, according to Quintal.
“We are very focused on outreach and trying to build relationships with schools in every corner of the country to expose them to our programming,” Quintal said.
Results of the election had not been tallied at the time of the interview, but Quintal added that the program expected around 800,000 student voters to participate in the Student Vote federal election.
The benefits of the program go beyond teaching children to vote on election day, Quintall added.
“Being a citizen is not just about casting your ballot once every four years,” Quintal said. “It’s about keeping up with what happens between elections. It’s about staying informed about the parties and the candidates. We try to present the program from a holistic perspective.”
