Election 2011 – will we vote?

A big unknown in the 2011 federal election concerns voter apathy and the role of the internet in mobilizing voters – especially young Canadians. Can emerging groups like Lead Now and Apathy Is Boring get people out to vote who otherwise would not have? Because that’s the way elections are won and lost: by mobilizing indifferent voters to get out, go to a polling station and cast a ballot, which is very hard work. While young Canadians have historically been much less likely to vote – Statistics Canada says just 37 per cent of Canadians between the ages of 18 and 24 voted in 2008 – the 2011 federal election may signal an increase in democratic engagement.

You can see from the chart above how much of an impact that young Canadians can have on the federal political landscape if they were to come out and vote en masse. (Taken from the 2010 article in the Globe and Mail "How Parliament would look if only youth voted").

Young people have more at stake in the democratic process than any other age group. They have to live longer and pay more in taxes with the political decisions of today. At least one group mobilizing for democratic participation of young Canadians – http://www.leadnow.ca – has identified healthcare as a primary issue, stating that

“We want a country with a vibrant democracy that protects our environment, provides opportunity while achieving greater equality, and ensures that everyone has access to the care they need.”

Young Canadian voters should be concerned about healthcare. Not only because young taxpayers will be paying cost of providing care to their aging baby-boomer parents, but because right now young Canadians are the ones most likely to be lacking prescription drug insurance coverage. The people at risk today under a conventional plan include people who are:

• more likely to reside in one of the Atlantic Provinces, Manitoba or Saskatchewan;
• prone to be young (less than age 25 or to a lesser extent age 25-34);
• more likely to have no post-secondary education;
• more likely to be self-employed;
• more likely to be working part year or part time;
• prone to be single persons living on their own;
• more likely living in a rural area; and
• more likely to belong to households with lower middle incomes ($10,000-$30,000).

With regard to drug insurance programs for children, provinces vary considerably in terms of whom they cover, what drugs are covered and how much subscribers must pay out of pocket. Unlike seniors and social assistance recipients, the provinces do not agree on the importance of providing comprehensive coverage for all children.

Take Action:

During the final two weeks of the federal campaign, the leaders and the media coverage will focus on the key issues of healthcare and the economy.

While the Liberals, NDP and Green parties have made commitments to a national drug insurance plan, without providing much detail about how their plans will be paid for, the Conservative Party platform, entitled Low-Tax Plan for Jobs and Economic Growth , falls well short on a national catastrophic drug coverage plan, failing to even mention the increasing burden the cost of drugs can place on families.

In both their platform and in a number of comments made by candidates on the election trail, it is clear that the Tories have failed to make good on their commitment and are ignoring growing public opinion and media attention – they are content to leave provinces to their own devices when it comes to addressing rising drug costs:

“Drug care is a provincial jurisdiction (issue) but we are strong supporters of health care which allows provinces to do more”– David Morse, Conservative Candidate for Kings South via Twitter

“Healthcare is a provincial matter. You should be talking to your provincial Minister of Health about drug insurance”– Tony Clement to Muskoka-area voter/business-owner, Wed. April 13, 2011, Prot Carling, Ontario

“Health-care delivery is a provincial matter,”– said North Vancouver Conservative MP Andrew Saxton, North Shore News, April 8th, 2011

Ask your candidate today what they will do to make sure young Canadians have the care they need.

Stand up for the Canada you want.

Pat Kelly
CEO, Campaign to Control Cancer

Click below to read previous blog postings
As the election approaches, Canadians can now make a choice on a National Catastrophic Drug Coverage plan
Election 2011 – will we vote?
Mike Kennedy’s 2011 Federal Election Blog – Part 7: The Candidates Speak-Up
Mike Kennedy’s 2011 Federal Election Blog – Part 6
Mike Kennedy’s 2011 Federal Election Blog – Part 5
Mike Kennedy’s 2011 Federal Election Blog – Part 4
Leaders Debate Special
Mike Kennedy’s 2011 Federal Election Blog – Part 3
Mike Kennedy’s 2011 Federal Election Blog – Part 2
Have your say in next week’s federal election leaders’ debates
Mike Kennedy’s 2011 Federal Election Blog – Part 1
Cancer and the Federal Election: