Students at Gordon Bell High School may not be old enough to vote in Monday’s election, but they want to be prepared when their time comes.
The school is one of many across Canada participating in Student Vote, a mock election to introduce them to the process.
Grade 8 student Aaron-Marwinn Anoh said the process is “preparing me for when I’m going to vote, and how I’m going to choose — what to look at, how to dig deeper and research on the people I’m voting for.”
A group of students from Grades 7 to 9 have set up their social studies classroom like a polling station, complete with ballot boxes and private voting booths. They check the IDs of their fellow students, keep a list of electors, and monitor the voting process like Elections Canada workers do.
Wyatt Reyes, a Grade 7 student, is acting as the central poll supervisor in charge of initialling the ballots and tallying them on election day. He says they’ve been studying the parties and the local candidates so they can make an informed decision.
“We’ve also been researching what the candidates believe in, what we believe in, and where we align with the parties.”
Reyes says he developed an interest in politics from a young age, and he’s not the only one.
“My parents have been really good about educating me on politics and what’s going on in the world right now,” says Aubrey Di Lullo, in Grade 8. “And I like debating and stuff, I like having debates.”
Education, human rights and immigration are just a few of the issues they’ve been discussing in class, which will play into their decisions in the voting booth.
Social studies teacher Alana Ollinger says the goal of Student Vote is to encourage critical thinking.
“I feel confident that these young people are going to be really engaged adults,” says Ollinger. “They’re engaged now, they’re observing the world around them.”
After the votes are tallied, they’ll learn what kind of government Canada’s students elected, down to how many votes each candidate received. And when they eventually cast a real ballot, the decision won’t be so intimidating.
“It helps you know what to do instead of being clueless and having to rely on other people who can persuade your votes,” says Grade 7 student Adetooni Adegoke.