Why don’t people vote in municipal elections?
City hall will be holding a public consultation at the end of the summer on why so few people vote in municipal elections.
I have some ideas. The root problem is that people generally have a poor grasp of what the different levels of government do. A couple of municipal elections ago, a friend was running for council in my area, and asked me to go around my block with him and help introduce him to my neighbours.
It was a real eye‑opener for me, as people asked him about many matters not covered by municipal services, and yet seemed to have no real idea how much influence the powers of the city and borough have on the quality of life in their immediate surroundings – the streets, the parks, the general tone and conduct of city life. Except for the mayor, the politicians involved don’t tend to be well recognized unless there’s a scandal. So people can dismiss municipal politics as unimportant: they don’t understand what it does.
I used to work with a guy who lived in Rosemont. He had some complaints about his neighbourhood and I asked him who his councillor was and why he didn’t send them an email. He didn’t know, but he’d already given up fatalistically on the idea that the councillor – whoever they were – might respond to his concerns. He hadn’t voted in the municipal election either – I asked. This man was a property owner and an otherwise competent person, too. It was a real delineation of the disconnect that people feel. Is it the city’s fault? Or is it that we’re not properly taught civics so we don’t understand the mechanisms of government?
I recently stopped following a Facebook group called “Montreal Then and Now” where people posted occasionally interesting old photos. But it became a general kvetch fest in which it became clear that a lot of older anglos still think city hall is the same nest of vipers it was under Tremblay (and, in some cases, that nothing in the city has been any good since Drapeau was mayor, since the PQ was first elected, etc.). I don’t know how city hall can demonstrate to these bitter codgers that it is no longer corrupt from top to bottom, but a lot of people still think it is and therefore it’s futile to vote in city elections. In their world, no matter who you elect, city hall will remain deeply corrupt.
A footnote that crosses my mind: the borough system doesn’t help. That people don’t know what the borough does vs. what the city does, adds an extra layer of confusion. I’ve worked in municipal elections and people can be perturbed by the fact that they get three ballots, because the structure of the city government is not apparent to them and when people feel confused often they will just turn away.
So that’s what I know. Better education would help. Since most of us are already out of school, it’ll be on the city to inform us what they do, and how we can contribute. How you get people to take enough interest, I don’t know. Their focus is elsewhere, even if they complain every week on Facebook about the potholes on their street.
Kevin 14:34 on 2022-06-30 Permalink
I fully agree with you. Canada needs a few widespread education campaigns about how basic stuff works because most of our population hasn’t got a clue.
But politicians and bureaucrats like when nobody knows how things work because it allows them to shift the blame to somebody else.
I don’t know if governments will ever do this, but one place to start would be including something eyecatching and informative with the annual school and municipal tax bills.
Dominic 14:57 on 2022-06-30 Permalink
This seems like a good-as-any moment to unsubscribe from that same Facebook group. Its trash.
Daniel D 15:19 on 2022-06-30 Permalink
Imagine being a resident of nearly 10 years who doesn’t yet have the vote, and realising how many people don’t exercise their democratic rights to vote, speak to their representatives or educate themselves.
dhomas 15:29 on 2022-06-30 Permalink
Many people I know will complain about things in the city and do absolutely zero to change it.
For example, the last time I went to my sister’s house, she and her husband’s family (who live on the next street over) complained about a pothole and how “the city does nothing to fix it”. I pulled out my phone and opened my trusty Montreal app to report the pothole. It was fixed within 48 hours.
These same people complain about tons of things relating to city politics (most of which I disagree with, like how “the city is ‘ruining’ streets with bike paths” or other such nonsense). Yet they don’t vote in municipal elections, or make their voices heard in other ways. It’s probably for the best that they don’t vote, just like the “bitter codgers” from that Facebook group, or they might prevent more streets from being “ruined”.
Meezly 16:02 on 2022-06-30 Permalink
In BC, I remember learning in high school how the federal level works and a bit about provincial government, but never the municipal level. I only learned more about municipal level stuff only when I took an interest in voting and becoming informed over time. It was quite a gradual process as my parents were totally apolitical and uninterested in politics.
I wonder if it has to do with public schools being under provincial jurisdiction so I can kind of see how municipal politics is “beneath” the curriculum or they see this as something that should be left to the local community or individual to go about on their own.
Joey 23:14 on 2022-06-30 Permalink
I dunno, your Rosemont colleague sounds like someone who has a poor grasp of civics but a decent grasp of politics.
Kate 07:29 on 2022-07-01 Permalink
A blanket undiscerning cynicism is a dead end, civically speaking.
Joey, I had counter-examples for him. Several times I’ve emailed my councillor over issues in the neighbourhood – stuff about roads and sidewalks and safety mostly. And she has always responded and usually acted on them. That doesn’t necessarily mean that my colleague’s councillor would have been so responsive, but he never bothered to find out, did he?