Paper Summary:

This paper explores the root causes of low voter turnout in the Canadian federal elections as well as the strategies for improving turnout. The paper first discusses the need for participation programs in the school system to encourage youth to vote, the potential of increased door-to-door canvassing as well as the option of providing rewards or treats for voters that turn up at the polls. The paper then explains how Canada's best hope for re-engaging declining voters may lie in proportional representation that allows each individual's vote, even those in a minority party, to truly count. A graph on voting turnout in selected foreign countries and a table of voter turnout figures, 1867 - 2000 are included with the paper.

From the Paper:

"The figures show that turnout in Canadian federal elections, when compared as a percentage of registered electors, has declined significantly in recent years. In the years following the Second World War, turnout averaged approximately 75 percent. The only exceptions to this were in the years 1953, 1974, and 1980. The reasons for these unique declines could be found in the fact that elections were held at either the height of winter or summer, or as in the case of the 1953 election, it occurred during a long period of one-party domination. The declines in voter turnout in 1974 and 1980 were during periods of the fall of minority governments, in addition to having a general climate of relative public dissatisfaction with politics (Pammet & LeDuc)."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Heard, A. Historical Voter Turnout in Canadian Federal Elections & Referenda. No date. Simon Fraser University. 10 Mar. 2008 <http://www.sfu.ca/~aheard/elections/historical-turnout.html> .
• Ivison, J. "PR means voters won't get off scot-free :[National Edition]. " National Post [Don Mills, Ont.] 16 Jun 2003,A15. Canadian Newsstand Core. ProQuest. University of Phoenix, Phoenix, AZ. 10 Mar. 2008 <http://www.proquest.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/> .
• Knox, P. "Turnout reinforced reputation for apathy Republicans countered Democrats' voter drive. " The Globe and Mail 7 November 1984 P.10. Canadian Newsstand Core. ProQuest. University of Phoenix, Phoenix, AZ. 10 Mar. 2008 <http://www.proquest.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/> .
• Kotarski, K. and Stambaugh, M. "We'll do our best to vote sober :[Final Edition]. " Calgary Herald [Calgary, Alta.] 18 Nov. 2003,A19. Canadian Newsstand Core. ProQuest. University of Phoenix, Phoenix, AZ. 10 Mar. 2008 <http://www.proquest.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/> .
• Levenson, C. "Another vote for PR :[Final Edition]. " The Ottawa Citizen [Ottawa, Ont.] 27 Mar. 2007,A15. Canadian Newsstand Core. ProQuest. University of Phoenix, Phoenix, AZ. 11 Mar. 2008 <http://www.proquest.com.ezproxy.apollolibrary.com/> .

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