Change in political era and demographic weight as explanations of youth ‘disenfranchisement’ in federal elections in Canada, 1965–2000

This study examines trends in the age-specific turnout rates of Canadians in federal elections between 1965 and 2000 in order to understand the present problem of declining voter turnout among young Canadians (18–29 years of age). While a number of Canadian studies have framed the present-day problem of youth voter turnout as a ‘cohort’ one, unspecified in terms of content, the role of political era and demographic change in shaping these trends has been largely obscured, if not ignored. This study examines the utility of these two factors as explanations for trends in youth voter turnout. It is concluded that political era along with the changing demographic weight of youth in the population of voting age have interacted to politically alienate and marginalize Canadian youth.