Canadians will head to the polls on April 28 to elect a new government.
For the first time in my living memory, some of Canada’s election focus will be external and threats of foreign interference are explicit and everywhere. The world is changing fast.
How can Canadians best inform themselves?
First, it’s important to recognize that actually voting for who you want to lead the country and represent your interests in Ottawa is crucial to having a healthy democracy.
Voter turnout for the last federal election, in 2021, was 62.6 per cent, a number that has been dropping steadily over time, Elections Canada reports. That’s six out of every 10 people who voted, meaning four in every 10 did not. Everyone should aim to vote.
In order to vote, people need to be informed, and politics is rife with misinformation. Everyone from your dad to your sister to your mechanic to your optician might have an opinion about politics and a bias as to why you should vote a certain way.
It’s important for you to decide for yourself, whoever you are. Of course, it’s fine, and even great, to talk about it with others, but reserve your decision until you are well informed. Don’t just follow along because your friends are.
My own bias says newspapers are a good source of information, but newspapers are also biased in their own way. Check out Media Bias Fact Check to learn more – even the Richmond News can be found on the site.
So be aware of bias, but pay attention to the news, however you choose to do that, to begin to understand the bigger political picture.
Richmond is divided into two federal ridings, both of which have been slightly re-aligned and renamed for this election.
The first is Richmond Centre - Marpole, which includes the western part of Richmond up to No. 3 Road as far south as Williams Road, the airport and the neighbourhood of Marpole, a corner of southwestern Vancouver around Granville and 70th Avenue. It also includes the area west of Highway 99 and north of Westminster Highway.
The other riding is Richmond East-Steveston, which includes everything south of Williams including Steveston Village, and everything east of No. 3 Road, other than the small area mentioned above.
To find your riding, visit the Elections Canada website and enter your postal code. The correct riding will pop up, with information about where and when to vote and who the declared candidates are.
If there is an all-candidates meeting in your riding, try to attend. These meetings are open to the public and include all candidates speaking and answering questions.
Don’t be shy, be informed.
Most candidates send out flyers close to election date, and some will even visit your front door. Of course, I’m not sure how successful that is these days, since a ringing doorbell usually signifies that a package has been dropped off, rather than a visitor you might want to talk to. If you know they’re there, answer the door and have a conversation.
Read the flyers, but realize they are also biased. They are advertisements, hoping to entice voters. Even so, they will contain the basics of what any candidate or party is putting forward for ideas to govern the country and are a good place to start learning.
If you’re getting your political news from social media – and who isn’t, these days – remember to fact check what you hear. Everything, even videos, can be easily and effectively faked using technology.
First, remember your own biases – sometimes we believe what we want to hear, and social media magnifies this by creating filter bubbles, where the messages you like get repeated over and over and alternative voices don’t make it through. The social media algorithms are fine-tuned to learn what we like and send us more and more of the same.
If you see something online and you just can’t believe it, click away from social media and try to confirm it from other sources. Are reliable news outlets reporting something similar or have they debunked it?
It’s always a good idea to check details on the post, because you could be looking at something from five years ago, or something put forward as satire. Some studies have found that “fake news” spreads faster than the truth, so always check with an expert or a fact checking website like Snopes.
I would love to see voter turnout increase in this election, but more importantly, I hope to see an informed electorate lift up and carry our democracy.
Tracy Sherlock is a freelance journalist who writes about education and social issues. Read her blog or email her [email protected].
