Students in the Moose Jaw-Lake Centre-Lanigan constituency might have been unable to vote legally in the 2021 federal election, but they could still participate via a youth-focused voting program.
Student Vote Canada encourages schools to participate in the voting process whenever a provincial or federal election is held. The initiative is designed to be an authentic learning program that provides students with the chance to experience the voting process first-hand and practise active and informed citizenship habits.
“Numerous independent evaluations have confirmed that Student Vote helps foster the characteristics of young voters, including enhanced civic literacy, increased political interest and discussion, and greater intention to vote,” the program’s website says.
Twenty-nine schools in this constituency participated in this year’s Student Vote program. Based on how students cast their ballots, their results showed:
- Fraser Tolmie, Conservative Party, received 1,142 votes or 41.42 per cent of the vote
- Talon Regent, NDP, received 729 votes or 26.44 per cent of the vote
- Chey Craik, People’s Party of Canada, received 317 votes or 11.50 per cent of the vote
- Isaiah Hunter, Green Party, received 262 votes or 9.50 per cent of the vote
- Katelyn Zimmer, Liberal Party, received 219 votes or 7.94 per cent of the vote
- David Craig Townsend, Maverick Party, received 88 votes or 3.19 per cent of the vote
In Moose Jaw schools:
- Students at A.E. Peacock Collegiate and Central Collegiate voted for Tolmie, followed by Regent, Craik, Hunter, Zimmer and Townsend
- King George Elementary students voted for Tolmie, followed by Regent, Zimmer, Hunter, Craik and Townsend
- Students at Prince Arthur School voted for Hunter, Tolmie, Regent, Zimmer, Craik, and Townsend
- Sacred Heart School students voted for Regent, Tolmie, Hunter, Craik, Zimmer, and Townsend
- Students at St. Mary School voted for Regent, Tolmie, Zimmer, Craik, Hunter and Townsend
- St. Michael School students voted for Regent, Tolmie, Zimmer, Craik, Hunter and Townsend
- Students at Vanier Collegiate voted for Tolmie, Regent, Zimmer, Craik, Hunter and Townsend
- Westmount students voted for Zimmer, Regent, Craik, Hunter/Tolmie (tie), and Townsend
- Ecole St. Margaret students voted for Tolmie, Regent, Hunter, Craik, Zimmer and Townsend
- Ecole Ducharme students voted Regent, Tolmie, Zimmer, Hunter, Craik, and Townsend
These numbers and results were close to how the federal election actually played out in this riding, as Tolmie got 61 per cent of the vote, Regent received 18.7 per cent, Craik got 11.6 per cent, Zimmer received six per cent, Townsend got 1.6 per cent, and Hunter received 1.1 per cent.
Meanwhile, nationally, 740,515 students from 5,478 schools cast their ballots in all 338 federal electoral districts. The results from the national Student Vote program showed the Liberals winning 117 seats and 24 per cent of the vote, the NDP won 107 seats and received 29 per cent of the vote, the Conservatives won 91 seats and 25 per cent of the vote, the Bloc Quebecois won 20 seats and took two per cent of the vote, while the Green Party won three seats and 10 per cent of the popular vote.
“When we started the campaign, we were unsure how many schools would participate given the limited time. Teachers have exceeded our expectations. We would like to thank teachers for dedicating time to the program and for helping educate future voters," said Taylor Gunn, president and CEO of CIVIX Canada. "Our democracy will be stronger because of you."
For more information visit studentvote.ca.
