As our local elections fast approach, I’d like to discuss why it’s important to cast your vote. While some of you reading this may already have plans to vote for your next councillors, school boards, or local officials, I would take a gamble and say that for most of you, it hasn’t been on your radar.
Back when I was first discovering local politics, I had never voted in a municipal election or even put thought into why it would matter to vote for my councillors. This could be boiled down to my naive understanding of politics—I believed that my vote was most important on the big spotlight issues that were constantly talked about in the news. I voted for a politician based on industrial trade, military strategy, and global environmental stances.
While these are all necessary considerations on a larger scale, I had yet to consider that there were similarly intricate political issues on a smaller scale, operating just outside my doorstep. Instead of navigating industrial trade, city councillors navigate business licenses and policy framework, and their environmental stances look more like park protections or added greenspace.
Another factor I had never considered before was population difference. While your vote in the federal election is important, your single vote in a local election holds significantly more weight than it would in a federal election, since a municipal electoral district holds far less people than the entirety of Canada; simply put, you have more of a voice on local issues. While I once thought these experiences were only personal, statistics seem to point toward a deeper pattern of voter behaviour.
According to CivicInfoBC, a non-profit who provide data and information for government, during the 2022 municipal elections, many communities had far less than 50 percent voter turnout. Victoria, for example, showed only a 36.81 percent turnout, while Saanich had a 30.8 percent voter turnout. This number contrasts highly with provincial and federal elections, which typically gather well over half of a population per election. Due to a staggeringly low voter turnout, municipal elections can often be far less representative of the democratic process. An election without enough representation from constituents cannot accurately reflect the viewpoints and opinions of its community, meaning any community member could easily find ways to become a councillor with a strong enough minority to back them. This could lead to individuals holding positions of power while being majorly uncontested or unvetted, which can cause huge disruptions and administrative burden in the long run.
Local community leaders may not be making executive decisions at the heart of Canada, but they are the officials behind making our communities more affordable, safe, accessible, and enjoyable. If you’re interested in how your vote can take effect, I would encourage you to check out your municipality’s website, where you can find more information on voter eligibility, important election dates, and voter assistance programs.