Capilano University political science instructor David Matijasevich and Murray Mollard from non-profit North Shore Community Resources put together the First Vote project to promote democratic engagement, elections and voting for first-time voters, oftentimes young adults who have recently turned or are just about to turn 18.

Since January, Windsor and Mountainside Secondary school seniors have been participating in political workshops run by Capilano University students, learning about politics, civic engagement and ways to get involved.

Last week, the students wrapped up the project with shared initiatives they created to engage with the community in politics.

“We thought that in terms of trying to do civic and voter education, particularly with the upcoming election, young people relate to young people much more easily,” Matijasevich said.

The idea for the pilot project has been bubbling for a while, Mollard said, but it really came into fruition this year when Matijasevich was able to get students on board and connect with the schools.

Initiatives the high school students put together ranged from launching podcasts and newsletters to Instagram accounts, with most having ties to the federal election.

Windsor Secondary student Brydon Harris Irvine said her group made an Instagram account encouraging young people to vote and telling them how to do so. But when it came to creating the username, they picked something that would grab people’s attention: Politically Lit.

“We wanted something that was funny and that would also draw people our age to maybe take a look,” Irvine said. “A lot of the time, students don’t really know how to vote or how to get more involved, because it’s not really accessible, so we decided to use a social media platform that a lot of people our age use to educate them and make it easier to find.”

Fewer young people are casting ballots over the last few years, according to Elections Canada data. In the 2015 general election, voter turnout was 57.1 per cent for people ages 18 to 24, then 53.9 per cent in the 2019 election, and 47 per cent in the 2021 election.

Karlee Hewett was one of the six Capilano University students who took part in the pilot project at Windsor Secondary, emphasizing during the discussions that young people’s votes really do matter.

“Statistically speaking, it’s the older generations that are deciding how our politics are swayed right now, and with engagement of youth, I think we’ll really see policy difference and government change in the future,” Hewett said.

Matijasevich said political parties oftentimes design their platforms and policy pitches based on who they know is going to turn out to vote, making it vital for young people and those in different demographics to engage in politics and have their voices heard.

“The idea here is that if voting is such an important thing to do and political engagement is important, then high school is an ideal time to really have these conversations and get people thinking about the importance of involvement and how having a voice, particularly young people, is really important,” Matijasevich said about the project.

Both Matijasevich and Mollard said the pilot project launch comes at a perfect time with the federal election right around the corner, as students are already keeping an eye on what’s happening. Originally the project was scheduled for fall of this year, but then the timing worked out to have it earlier, he said.

The pilot has been a success, Matijasevich said, and there are plans to bring back the First Vote project with a focus on the municipal elections on the North Shore next year.

“Everyone came out feeling like it was a great project,” he said.