Watch above: University of Saskatchewan professor David McGrane has released a new study for the Broadbent Institute. He discusses with Lisa Dutton the findings that more young Canadians back a progressive agenda than older Canadians.
SASKATOON – Political parties may have to shift to the left to capture the votes of young adults. That’s one of the findings of a new report authored by Saskatoon political studies professor David McGrane.
“I think the lesson in it is if indeed young people do vote at the same rate as older people, it could radically transform politics in this country,” McGrane told Global News.
The study was released by the Broadbent Institute, a left-leaning think-tank based in Ottawa. It analyzed a data set of over 8,000 Canadians.
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McGrane, who teaches political studies at the University of Saskatchewan and St. Thomas More College, says the thing that surprised him the most were the uniformity of the views of young people across the country.
“No matter where they lived, no matter what they did, youth were consistently more progressive, more to the left than older people,” he said.
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Some highlights include
- 56 per cent of young Canadians said it was more important to protect the environment than create jobs
- 82 per cent under 35 believe government should ensure everyone has a decent standard of living, compared to 72 per cent of older Canadians
- 72 per cent of younger Canadians said the world is always changing and we should adopt our view of moral behavior to these changes; 57 per cent of those over 35 agreed
McGrane said he found a pronounced generational divide.
“You see it on the environment, you see it over taxes, young people are more willing to pay taxes, but you see it in some stranger places too, you see young people want more spending on health care than older people, which is a bit counter-intuitive because older people might be larger users of health care,” said McGrane.
“This is something that could play into the next election.”
At the same time, parties have tried for years to engage young voters. McGrane said young people often say they don’t care about politics. But the study shows focusing on issues they care about might change that.
“I think maybe you need to give them a reason to care, and so if you talk about their priorities – education, the environment, that could give them a reason to care that could get them out to the polls,” he said.
“I think it’s going to push the NDP and the Liberals to say if we really do want to capture these voters we have to go to the left a bit more. It’s going to be really interesting to see how these two parties battle for that youth vote.”
McGrane added social media also plays a major role in reaching young people.
“If you have a platform that can’t be hashtagged, it’s just not going to get out there.”
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