Opinion: Democracy in Canada is at risk and young Canadians feel it
We need to reimagine democracy for the world we live in — not the world that was
By YEORGIOS PRONTZOS
Young Canadians need to invest in democracy, otherwise it could disappear faster than their money in a crypto scam.
Canadian identity has often been shaped by the ways we differ from our southern neighbours. We’ve found pride in the social contract, that we supposedly look out for one another, but today the differences between Canada and the U.S are not as distinct as we often like to imagine.
The American experiment
Many Americans today feel strongly that U.S. democracy has been sold to the highest bidder. Some Americans believe the resilience of their institutions will endure, but that’s not a reassuring message knowing they re-elected an insurrectionist to the presidency. Americans are now witnessing a dismantling of their civic institutions, a trade war on their closest allies, and a democratic system experiencing existential crisis.
It’s comforting for Canadians to believe we won’t be fooled by the same divisive tactics or that our system is sufficiently safeguarded, but if we behave like we are immune from anti-democratic forces it’s easy to lose sight of our vulnerabilities. The path we are on can be illustrated through the vantage point of the next generation, because young Canadians are less satisfied with democracy and less hopeful for the future than young people in recent decades.
Growing distrust
Economic scarcity, mental health decline and distrust of public and private institutions are shaping the lives of too many young Canadians today. Between 2015 and 2021, the percentage of young Canadians aged 18 to 34 hopeful for the future dropped by 15 per cent. The notion that these beliefs are age related is false because as millennials get older, they become even more dissatisfied with the state of democracy. Compared to earlier generations, young Canadians today are more detached from Canadian politics and many believe the government simply does not care what they think.
James Knight, founder of Next Gen Political Strategies and a Grade 12 student in West Vancouver, said there aren’t enough ways for young people to engage in politics, which widens the trust gap.
“It’s not necessarily that young people don’t like democracy. It’s that young people don’t like this iteration of democracy, and don’t feel like it’s representative enough and that’s reflected in the trust numbers we see,” Knight said.
The cost-of-living crisis weighs heavily on the minds of young Canadian, under these conditions democracy cannot function properly. Many are skipping meals to save on rent. Food banks have seen record turnout across Canada, including among full-time workers. Canadians are choosing to have fewer children, and for many, most of their paycheques are spent just to meet their basic needs.
Terri Givens, political science professor at UBC, said she can’t recall a more difficult time for democracy in her life. She said we need a better way to educate the public on the importance of a healthy democracy.
“The danger of authoritarianism is that we lose our voice,” Givens said. “We see our representatives up and down the government as public servants and their bosses are the people. In an authoritarian system, that’s gone. They are no longer serving the people, they are serving themselves.”
Dangerous rhetoric
During the B.C. provincial election last fall, some of the language used by candidates mirrored what we have seen in the U.S. in recent years. A disturbing number of candidates expressed unhinged opinions that should set alarm bells ringing.
From B.C. Conservative Brent Chapman calling into question the reality of mass shootings to fellow B.C. Conservative Bryan Tepper pushing the false narrative that the Jan. 6 insurrection was a hoax to their colleague Dallas Brodie’s denial of residential school atrocities and mocking the survivors, these comments are just the tip of the iceberg.
All three candidates were elected as MLAs. Party leader John Rustad sounds like an overwhelmed parent forced to deliver apology after apology for their child’s disgraceful behaviour. What does it say about our values when we call these people our representatives.
A democracy is only as resilient as the people who believe in it. If Canadians should take any lessons from the U.S. it’s that a proactive approach to democracy is more effective than a reactive one. We cannot continue the path we are on and expect the growing wealth gap or the climate crisis to be solved by incrementalism.
On the eve of a federal election, younger Canadians need to ask themselves what kind of future they want. We urgently need to re-envision what democracy should look like in the modern world, before we no longer recognize it.