Canadian hopefuls rely on millennials

Canadians are thinking about whom they’ll vote for in the upcoming federal election on Oct. 21 and the most crucial demographic is millennials. According to Elections Canada, there are 27.2 million Canadians who will have the power to make a difference, should they choose to vote, but the generation most likely to decide the prime minister is millennials.

Millennials will make up the largest voting bloc and will have the opportunity to bring significant representation to the polls. According to Abacus, a research and strategy firm that specialises in voting trends, those born between 1980 and 2000 can have the most significant impact on the results of the federal election if they choose to vote.

“It’s clearly a very important demographic,” Peggy Nash, a political commentator and former NDP MP said. “Not only because of their numbers but because of the decisions that they make. The choices that they make will affect the future of the country for many years to come.”

Past trends from previous federal elections in Canada have shown low turnouts from young Canadians. “I’ve talked to people in their 40s, 50s and they had never voted before, and I think it’s shocking,” Nash said.

However, the last federal election in Canada threw the trends off. In 2015, voter turnout for the Canadian federal election for people aged 18 to 24 went up from 38.8 per cent to 57.1 per cent, in contrast with the trends seen since the 1990s.