“One of the keys to our success is the youth vote; and we had difficulty getting this vote out in Marie-Victorin.” Here are the words of the spokesperson for the Québec Solidaire Party, Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois, after the defeat of his party in the by-elections in Marie-Victorin last April. Five months later — and two weeks before the provincial general elections, scheduled for October 3 in Quebec — the subject of youth voting resurfaced. The more the elections pass, the greater the abstention rate among 18-25 year olds. Why don't young people vote? Is it a question of age? Should they get into the habit of voting?
Is this phenomenon due to a lack of political education or to communication gaps? Are there solutions? To try to answer these questions, La Converse looked at this distance that exists between youth and politics.
The causes of the phenomenon
“I don't feel concerned with politics.”
“I've never voted and I don't even know how it works.” “My vote is useless, because the political parties don't care about us.” “We just know that (François) Legault is going to give us $500.” From the South Shore of Montreal to Laval, via Laval, via Longueuil and the Saint-Michel neighborhood, the answers of young Quebecers are similar. “Political parties don't come looking for us and our vote. They are trying more to attract the vote of seniors, rather than ours, while we represent the future and the next generation,” says Rania, 21, who lives in Longueuil. Maxime Blanchard, a doctoral student at McGill and co-author of a research report on abstention in the 2018 Quebec general elections, tells us about the concept of habit: “What can motivate young people to go vote is the fact of finding it 'normal'. They are used to going to vote, so they will continue to vote, and that habit will last a lifetime.”
Another point — and perhaps the most important — is that young people do not feel listened to and represented. In other words, young people feel that their concerns and reality take a back seat for political parties. A feeling that is causing a split for many young people. “The main parties do not talk enough about certain issues, including those that concern young people, such as the environment. This explains, in part, why young people feel less concerned with politics and voting.” This is the observation made by Nadjim Fréchet, a doctoral student in political science at the University of Montreal, about abstention among young people. “They talk to us about housing, the renovation of public transport, the construction of a bridge, but what does that concern us, all these things? ” asks a Dawson College student living in Hochelaga.
“Some of us live in great precariousness from the end of high school. A precariousness that pushes many to stop school, because they can no longer combine the two,” he adds. With regard to student precariousness and youth, the Liberal Party announces measures in its program. The party says it is committed to reviewing the Perspective Quebec scholarship program, announced by the CAQ government. This program helps young people to continue their studies. As for Quebec Solidaire, it offers free education from elementary to university.
Ashley, 22, votes, but doesn't feel represented by the parties. “We should talk more about diversity, that's what we young people care about, not just young immigrants. The reason why we point the finger at topics like systemic racism, or the lack of representativeness, is because it lasts. This is a problem that should be dealt with with more conviction and more depth.” A lack of interest, or even a disconnection, in the face of politics caused by politicians who are themselves disconnected from the realities and needs of Montreal's youth.
Communication and education, the foundations of a good relationship
“Unfortunately, we were never introduced to or talked about politics; no one ever tried to make us like politics,” regrets Rania, who lives in Longueuil. La Converse contacted and questioned Élections Québec about this lack of political education for young people and the gaps in communication with them. “They can go to our website directly, or follow our advertising campaigns on social networks,” the representatives of the institution answer us. When asked what measures are put in place in schools to arouse young people's interest in politics, they tell us that “politics is learned at school from an early age”. A sentence that reflects the problem of political education, which leads young people to move away from the political sphere, and the question of voting in particular. Disconnected, Élections Québec and political parties are mostly disconnected in their mode of communication, according to young people in Montreal. “Recently, they released a video for us doing the Harlem Shake, a trend that dates back to 2013...” ironises Abdellah Azzouz, a young worker from Saint-Michel. When asked about these problems of communication and political education, young people in Montreal often use one word in their answers: “proximity.” “We are in an election period, so inevitably, you will meet the politicians and candidates, you will see them coming to pretend to be interested in the needs of the neighborhood, but where were they in recent years? ” asks Abdellah Azzouz again ironically. These young people talk about proximity in human relationships, meetings, trips to neighborhoods and, above all, in listening. “Voting and getting involved in politics is learning. You don't make it to 18, old enough to vote, and you say to yourself: “That's fine, I can vote.” No, that's not how it works,” says Mohamed Noredine Mimoun, coordinator of the Saint-Michel Youth Forum. He adds that young people “need to get an education long before they can vote — from the age of 15, 16.
At this age, you are already beginning to understand how it works and the importance of voting. When they reach voting age, it doesn't speak to them because they haven't learned anything about it.” This is what our speaker is complaining about. This could also explain why no young people from the Saint-Michel district showed up at the voting awareness event organized for them last Wednesday by the Saint-Michel Youth Forum. “Politics is not their natural environment for these young people, but if we do nothing, they will continue to feel unconcerned about elections and voting,” concludes Mr. Mimoun.
The paths to a possible reconciliation
Anxious to correct the lack of education for young people and the poor communication of political organizations, Mr. Mimoun, who also works at Cégep de Maisonneuve, congratulates Élections Québec for having set up polling stations in CEGEPs and universities: “Just knowing that they can vote in their school creates contact. Many young people voted for the first time thanks to this initiative, to this proximity to the vote.” For Said, 27, who lives in Saint-Michel, we must represent the interests of young people and serve them. To do this, numerous initiatives are being put in place to promote youth issues to political parties. The organization Vivre Saint-Michel en Santé is organizing the “public debate” on September 23. Community partners in the Saint-Michel district bring together candidates from the district of Viau and citizens in order to respond to the issues voted by these same citizens, including young people. The organization Un Itinéraire Pour Tous (UIPT) is also dedicated to helping the citizens of Montréal-Nord learn about the upcoming provincial elections. How? Thanks to the Citizen Engagement program, a program that aims to make young people aware of political and civic participation. “It is important for them to get involved and to give their voice. It is important that they see themselves as holders of this power, of this power to choose the people who will make decisions for them — they need to understand that,” insists Janvier Ndizeye, coordinator of IIPT youth projects.
The program includes several projects such as Moi Maire (sse) de ma ville, a role-playing game where young people put themselves in the shoes of elected officials to stimulate them. The Young People Committed group, which represents young people, meets every Thursday and mobilizes other young people in the neighborhood to do this civic duty. This mobilization involves, for example, the production of video clips in which the needs of young people are exposed. During the video game evenings organized on Friday or Saturday by the IIPT, where many young people are mobilized, a “committed young person” takes the opportunity to discuss the upcoming elections, whether to explain the issues debated or the functioning of the election. In preparation for these elections, the organization is also presenting a series of six capsules that allow you to learn more about what the parties propose, while asking them questions about neighborhood issues: the candidates in the Bourassa-Sauvé constituency will also be questioned about education by young people from the neighborhood. “An improvement was seen with the last municipal elections, where young people who participated in our projects voted, even though they had never done so. previously,” Janvier reports.
Becoming prime minister, the hope of Azzouz
Back in Saint-Michel, hope is still there, despite the absence of young people at the political event organized by the Youth Forum. This hope is in particular Abdellah Azzouz, who is well motivated to show the way to young people in his neighborhood. Like Les Jeunes Engaged, Abdellah, a speaker at the Saint-Michel Youth Forum, is among those who still believe in rich relationships between youth and politics.
Despite the lack of interest of many in his neighborhood, young Abdellah, a resident of Rosemont, has political ambitions to “change things”, he says. He is studying economics at the University of Montreal in order to be able (at first) to teach this subject at CEGEP as a professor. However, the young man's ambitions do not end there... “I am going to become Prime Minister”, he tells us. “Do you want to become a minister? He is asked. “No! I am going to become prime minister,” he insists, with a smile expressing unwavering confidence.
“I always wanted to be prime minister, but I never talked about it, because I was going to be taken for an idiot, but I know what I am worth,” continues the aspiring politician, who does not hesitate to give his opinion on the issues in his neighborhood. He thus condemns the inaction of federal, provincial and municipal governments on the issue of armed violence. “Think about what you did wrong and did not do to get us there today! ” he told politicians during a vigil last November.
The man who is simply called “Azzouz” in his neighborhood arrived in Quebec in 2009. “My parents decided to come here, because the health and education system is much better for us and our future than in Algeria,” he said. By becoming Prime Minister, the young worker wants to be a source of motivation for others, but he would especially like to get involved in helping people. “My mother and father cannot work with their diplomas, here in Quebec, like many who experience this situation. We don't open all the doors for them to integrate. I want to open all doors! ” he concludes proudly.
Opening doors is what this young person is interested in politics. It is also in order to open these doors that community organizations are mobilizing. Solutions and hope exist on both sides, but it is still too little to bring young people closer to politics or, at least, to their civic duty. A duty that, according to young people, should adapt to the new generations and their way of doing things — for example, in particular, the arrival of electronic voting.