Democracy is dying. At least this seems to be the general sentiment here in 2026. Every day we wake up with an influx of news depicting the unravelling of the complex web of world order and rule of law, with seemingly little to do to stop it. To some, this is nothing new; the rise and fall of regimes seem to come and go with the seasons. For others, however, it’s a shock to the system.
At its most basic level, democracy is defined as a system in which citizens choose who will govern them and how. As Abraham Lincoln put it in his 1863 Gettysburg Address, it’s a government “of the people, by the people, for the people.” While the definition is simple, the conditions to sustain such a system are not.
For Canadians, democracy has long felt like the natural order of things. Our political institutions were inherited from our motherland across the Atlantic like treasured family heirlooms, but just like someone born into wealth, the notion of privilege is understood in principle, but not necessarily in practice. Because many of our democratic rights were granted rather than fought for, it’s easy to assume they’ll always be in place.
One of the most important safeguards of democracy lies within the promise of free and fair elections. In Canada, this right is protected by the Constitution and administered through an independent electoral system. Yet, participation doesn’t always reflect its importance. Since the early 2000s, federal elections have seen on average a 64 percent voter turnout rate, with a particularly low turnout amongst younger generations. This number is significantly lower when compared to other democratic countries such as Denmark and Australia, who have seen an average turnout of 85 percent and 92 percent, respectively. While Canada’s system allows citizens to vote freely, many simply choose not to.
The words “free and fair” are also worth paying attention to. Many governments around the world claim to be “democratic” and may very well carry out elections, but are most certainly not free and fair by the standards of a healthy democracy. According to a 2019 report from international non-governmental organization Transparency International, one in four citizens of Latin America were offered bribes in exchange for their vote, with Dominican Republic experiencing one of the highest rates of corruption, affecting nearly one in two individuals. This is just one example of a regime who resorts to using the facade of democracy to legitimize authoritarian tendencies rather than truly empowering their people.
This isn’t to say that our system isn’t flawed. It certainly is. The historic and ongoing treatment of Indigenous peoples, along with barriers faced by immigrants and marginalized communities, have people arguing that we’re not as democratic of a country as we’d like to think. Growing wealth inequality and the influence of large corporations in our politics also raises concerns about whether everyone truly has an equal voice.
Still, Canada remains one of the most stable democracies in the world. Our elections are widely trusted, our courts operate independently, and citizens can openly criticize the government without fear of repercussion. Globally, these freedoms aren’t guaranteed, and if as Canadians we truly value the democratic rights we possess, we need to treat them as the responsibilities that they are rather than conveniences, especially in a world like today’s.