Students shouldn’t underestimate vote value in Vancouver byelection
Post-secondary demographic 'typically missing from the polls'
By AMBER MONIZ
More post-secondary students choosing to vote could make a difference to the outcome of the upcoming Vancouver byelection, a Langara instructor says.
According to Terri Evans, a political science instructor at Langara College, one of the demographics typically missing from the polls is students. She said this is “problematic,” because municipal elections receive such a low turnout.
Evans said many students think city council doesn’t “speak to issues that young people care about,” and they don’t “connect the dots” between what they want for their city and what municipal government controls, such as rental housing.
Political issues
Sarah McInteyre, who studies political science at Langara, said she is concerned about many issues within Vancouver, including the cost of living.
“Every single thing is political, so being involved in every aspect is important,” she said.
The byelection was called to fill two council vacancies after Christine Boyle of the OneCity party was elected as the Vancouver-Little Mountain MLA in 2024, and Adriane Carr of the Green party resigned in January. Carr said she had “lost confidence and trust” in Mayor Ken Sim.
Sim’s ABC party has a majority on council with six councillors. Green Coun. Pete Fry and independent Coun. Rebecca Bligh are the only two non-ABC city councillors. Bligh was previously affiliated with ABC but was ejected from the party in February after leadership said she no longer fit the party’s values.
Red flags
Some voters are concerned about the chance of an increased ABC majority, including Syd Frelick, an attendee of the all-candidates meeting held by the Dunbar Residents’ Association on March 13.
“Everything that ABC is doing is raising huge red flags,” Frelick said.
According to Evans, the City of Vancouver puts out “quite a bit of information” to help students make an informed choice when marking their ballots.
She said that it should be very easy to “figure out who aligns with your values, what they stand for, why they’re competing for your vote.”