I sometimes wonder what effect voter apathy has on good governance. Certainly, we have had our share of elections in one form or another over the last year or so—an unnecessary federal election last fall, a scheduled provincial election in June, and now municipal elections across Ontario.
Add to that a Conservative leadership race in Canada, mid-term elections in the United States, and a revolving door of prime ministers in the United Kingdom and it is little wonder that most people, with the obvious exception of political junkies, are left with their heads spinning.
Nevertheless, the most important aspect of a free democracy is the right to vote and have a say in who governs us at all levels of the political spectrum. The question I have, however, is whether this right should also be an obligation.
At the federal level in 2019, 67 per cent of eligible voters in Canada cast their vote, resulting in a minority government. Another federal election in 2021 saw 62.5 per cent of eligible voters go to the polls to elect a second minority government for the Trudeau Liberals. This June, only 43.5 per cent of eligible voters in Ontario showed up to re-elect Doug Ford and his Progressive Conservative government to a second majority term.
The last municipal election in Ontario was held in 2018 and the average voter turnout across the province was 38.30 per cent. While I find all of these statistics underwhelming and concerning, the average municipal turnout continues to be surprising to me.
After all, that is where grassroots politics is closest to the people. It is at the local level that many of the decisions that directly affect individuals are made; environmental issues, planning matters, infrastructure, recreational and cultural opportunities, and so on.
In addition to that, of the 417 municipalities currently having elections in Ontario, 217 of them, including all of those in Muskoka, are able to vote by telephone or on the internet. While I have some issues with that, which is a topic for another day, it does make it easier to vote. You don’t have to leave home. You can vote in your pajamas!
In Huntsville, in the 2014 municipal election, 8,200 people, or 46.33 per cent of eligible voters showed up. This election included a contested mayoral race with no incumbent running. In 2018 an incumbent mayor was running for re-election and 6,500 people voted representing 35.5 per cent of eligible voters. This time around, there is another contested election for mayor, with no incumbent running for re-election.
There is an election for every seat on Huntsville Council, for mayor, ward councillors, and District councillors. There are no acclamations and competition in all races has been vigorous, particularly in the mayoral race where four candidates are after the job, three of them having direct municipal experience, in one form or another.
Voting in this municipal election in Huntsville has been open since last Monday and will close at 8 pm this coming Monday evening, October 24, leaving effectively, one more day out of eight for people to vote.
Shockingly, to me at least, the voter turnout to date has been abysmal. There are 20,749 eligible voters in Huntsville. As of this morning, 4,748 people have cast their vote representing 22.8 per cent of those who are eligible. To reach the threshold of 2014, the last time there was a non-incumbent mayoral election, this number needs to almost double in the next day or so.
This raises the question as to whether there is voting apathy in Huntsville. There should not be, in my view. There were a number of important matters dealt with by our current council including the purchase of the former KWH property for environmental reasons, planning and density issues, a decision to rebuild the Madill public services site, streetscaping, and yes, Kent Park, to name just a few, for people to pass judgment on.
More important, however, is the future. Huntsville is facing some serious issues that require effective leadership. One of these is affordable housing. Much of Huntsville’s economy depends on service industries. If people who are needed to work in these businesses can’t afford to live here, that is a big problem. Another issue of course is ensuring we have the leadership required to capitalize on the province’s commitment to a new hospital in our community. Other issues also include clear-cutting, water access, and climate change, to name a few.
The old adage that you get what you pay for is easily transferrable to politics. You get what you vote for. Leaving that for others to decide, in my view, is potentially dangerous. Voting is not only a right, it is also a civic responsibility.
I believe voter apathy is a problem at all levels of government, but particularly so at the municipal level where voter turnout is historically low. In this particular municipal election, low voter turnout so far is not unique to Huntsville. In Bracebridge for instance, to date, out of 16,597 eligible voters, 3,834 individuals or 23.1 per cent have cast a ballot.
In Huntsville, we have had a good municipal election campaign, lots of good debate and candidate exposure. Voters should know by now where all the candidates and potential council members stand.
Now, if you care about the future of our community, it is your turn. If you have not voted, I urge you to do so. Vote for the candidates you believe will provide the most effective leadership over the next four years. I’ve done that, and you should too.
Believe me. Every single vote counts.
Hugh Mackenzie
Hugh Mackenzie has held elected office as a trustee on the Muskoka Board of Education, a Huntsville councillor, a District councillor, and mayor of Huntsville. He has also served as chairman of the District of Muskoka and as chief of staff to former premier of Ontario, Frank Miller.
Hugh has also served on a number of provincial, federal and local boards, including chair of the Ontario Health Disciplines Board, vice-chair of the Ontario Family Health Network, vice-chair of the Ontario Election Finance Commission, and board member of Roy Thomson Hall, the National Theatre School of Canada, and the Anglican Church of Canada. Locally, he has served as president of the Huntsville Rotary Club, chair of Huntsville District Memorial Hospital, chair of the Huntsville Hospital Foundation, president of Huntsville Festival of the Arts, and board member of Community Living Huntsville.
In business, Hugh Mackenzie has a background in radio and newspaper publishing. He was also a founding partner and CEO of Enterprise Canada, a national public affairs and strategic communications firm established in 1986.
Currently, Hugh is president of C3 Digital Media Inc., the parent company of Doppler Online, and he enjoys writing commentary for Huntsville Doppler.
Don’t miss out on Doppler!
Sign up here to receive our email digest with links to our most recent stories.
Local news in your inbox so you don’t miss anything!
Click here to support local news
Hugh, my default position would be to support mandatory voting. However, a quick review of credible articles on the Internet shows that, because there is a long list of valid points both for and against mandatory voting, only 22 out of 195 countries actually have mandatory voting and only 11 countries actually enforce it. A few countries adopted mandatory voting and later dropped it. The bottom line is, whether mandatory or not, those who do not vote forfeit their legitimate right to complain.
Jim says, ” The inner circle is now comprised of a small group of elected and unelected individuals who control everything” As I recall, that has been said about every government I can remember. Certainly, it was a frequent complaint about the Harper government. But that is the nature of the beast. Whether in government or the corporate world, after gathering as much input as reasonably possible, the difficult decisions are ultimately made by the CEO and his or her most trusted colleagues. If they don’t do that, they are accused of dithering. Governing and managing is not easy. Sometimes (like right now) the list of tough issues is almost overwhelming. Everyone has an opinion whether they vote or not. Voting is the best way and often the only way to register one’s opinion.
Voter apathy and resentment has been growing for years. Watching question period is a bitter lesson in futility. I’m sure the original intent of those who designed our parliamentary system was to allow for meaningful dialogue amongst all present. But over the years the political class has turned our parliament into a kangaroo court where lies and innuendo are the norm. Just watch question period for five minutes on any given day to see for yourself.
The inner circle is now comprised of a small crew of elected and unelected individuals who control everything. As a back bencher you have little or no control over decisions and you are forced to tow the party line despite the views of the constituents in your riding. Which means we are paying a lot of people excessive amounts of money to do virtually nothing. And if you keep lying and get re-elected we will give you and indexed pension that you did not contribute a dime to.
If it is illegal to lie in a court of law why is it not illegal to lie as a sitting member of parliament? Especially when your decisions effect millions of people. MP’s would be charged with obstruction of justice daily if the same rules applied. Who’s best interests are being served by allowing this farce to continue?
In closing if you want people to become actively engaged in the electoral process the kangaroo court has to go. If they do not respect our democratic institutions why would the electorate respect them?
Voter apathy is not a coincidence it is a condition brought upon the masses by uncaring callous individuals.
Right On! Hugh Mackenzie. Play your part in supporting our Democracy or receive not a single benefit from it. It’s not like there is a great demand made upon the individual. Simply make a mark and indicate your choice. I imagine if we were given twenty dollars, or a voucher for a six pack, there would be line ups at the polling sites, ( as long as it’s not that ‘buck a beer’), or fist fights over the family computer.
You hear people say there is no reason to vote because “THEY are all alike”. If that were so, why have the choice? There are such political systems: they are kingdoms or dictatorships or the like. Maybe we should go that way?
I watched the news this morning, of China’s Xi having a party member ‘demoted’. They showed it to the world! Two men approached the gentleman and encouraged him to come with them. I can imagine the dialogue.
“Why must I leave?”
” You are unwell.”
“I’m fine!”
“You were heard to cough.”
And the elder statesman was lead away.
Maybe Canadians would prefer that system, since it seems a lot of them prefer not to vote.
In our parliament, can you imagine a person rising in opposition? He/she clears their throat and prepares to speak.
The Prime Minister gestures and the Sergeant at Arms approaches that person.
“Would you come with me please?”
“Why? I was just preparing to speak.” The person would be perplexed.
“We heard you cough. You are unwell.”
“I was simply clearing my throat.”
“Ah. But it sounded like a cough. Come with me. Maybe return when you are well.”
The opposition is ushered away. Under such a system there is no need to vote. Would Canadians be happy to have such a nasty duty done away with. I’ve voted for sure. If I didn’t, I feel I would have no right to complain. I would not like to lose that ‘right’.
At about $600 million per election, we would be able to start reducing the national debt.
And, if that were the way it was, I can imagine Trudeau looking across the floor at Poilievre and thinking “Cough, dammit.”
‘Let your fingers do the walking’ people, and VOTE!!!!
Why is voter turnout abysmal ?
“Voters are “likely to get dishonest, secretive, unethical, unrepresentative and wasteful government no matter who they vote for, and as a result no one should be surprised to see voter turnout at such a low level,”
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/ont-electoral-reform-1.6480756
That list is what we have locally now.
Most of the current crop of councillors actually seem to work for developers not taxpayers.
They will approve anything developers want to do even though it doesn’t follow zoning or planning rules.
Build anything anywhere.
Starting with needless clearcutting of trees. Just like Kent Park.
While giving themselves a 27%!!! raise.
Is that all going to change after the election?
Doubt it.