The Civic and Political Engagement of Canadian Youth PDF

19 The Civic and Political Engagement of Canadian Youth L. Alison Molina-Gir...

19 The Civic and Political Engagement of Canadian Youth L. Alison Molina-Girón LEARNING OBJECTIVES To understand what youth civic engagement is To discuss the various participatory practices (e.g. institutionalized and non- institutionalized) youth employ to engage in the democratic process To explain the importance to a strong democracy of youth participation in public life To identify determinant factors that both contribute to and deter active youth engagement in civic and political life To outline key issues to equal participation among majority and minority youth in Canada INTRODUCTION What elements are essential to creating and maintaining a strong democracy? It is often thought that the health and stability of a democracy depends on its political institutions (e.g. the three branches of government, the political party system). While these are funda- Copyright © 2018. Canadian Scholars. All rights reserved. mental, there is another critical condition: the conscious participation of citizens. There is no doubt that the active and reflective participation of all citizens, youth included, in the governing process is vital to a strong democracy. Yet, do young Canadians participate in civic and political life? This is the question this chapter explores; it is an issue that has gar- nered increased attention since the 1990s. This renewed interest stems from a concern with reported low levels of youth engagement in the electoral process in Canada and elsewhere (Blais & Loewen, 2011; O’Neill, 2007; Turcotte, 2015a). Disengaged, apathetic, alienated, and indifferent are some of the qualifying words used to describe youth interest and en- gagement in political life. Notably, though there is evidence showing a decline in voting The Sociology of Childhood and Youth in Canada, edited by Xiaobei Chen, et al., Canadian Scholars, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/concordiaab-ebooks/detail.action?docID=6282142. Created from concordiaab-ebooks on 2024-09-05 19:15:02.  Chapter 19 The Civic and Political Engagement of Canadian Youth 379 and participation in other forms of institutionalized political participation, the opposite is also true: Youth do engage in civic and political life. Idle No More and the 2012 Quebec student protests, as well as the Arab Spring and the Occupy movement are examples of recent national and overseas grassroots movements where young citizens have played lead- ing roles (see Stolle, Harell, Pedersen, & Dufour, 2013; Hoffman & Jamal, 2012; Reimer, 2012; Tupper, 2014). This chapter examines the engagement of Canadian youth aged 15 to 24 in the nation’s civic and political life. In this work, youth are conceived of as active, interest- ed, involved, opinionated, concerned, and invested citizens whose agency is central to shaping the future of their societies. To what extent are Canadian youth engaged in the democratic process? What actions and behaviours do they perform in the public sphere as engaged citizens? Do they vote, discuss civic and political issues, and protest? Do youth write/blog about social problems? Do they join political groups or volunteer? Social and cultural diversity is a distinctive feature of Canada’s democratic society. As such, this chapter also explores the civic engagement of minority youth and asks, in a multicultural society like Canada, is participation equal across majority and minority youth? Before continuing to read, I invite you to answer these questions so you can assess what you know now and what you learn by reading this chapter. To a great extent, civic engagement is a lived experience influenced by one’s civic identity and social positioning. Citizen participation is often navigated within particular structural and discursive conditions. As we will see, one’s race, ethnicity, class, and level of education are factors that affect whether and to what extent young people participate in public life. This chapter begins by presenting a profile of salient sociodemographic characteristics of Canadian youth to contextualize youth (dis)engagement from civic and political life. I then discuss what civic engagement is, including the self-actualizing citizen as a model of youth engagement, as well as the realms of youth public partici- pation—civic, political, and digital. Next, I review the literature focusing on the actual civic and political engagement of young Canadians aged 15 to 24 and the factors likely to contribute, or not, to such engagement. The review does not aim to be exhaustive; rather it is indicative of the state of the field as suggested by the most recent literature on Canadian youth civic engagement. Copyright © 2018. Canadian Scholars. All rights reserved. A SOCIODEMOGRAPHIC PROFILE OF CANADA’S YOUTH 1 To set the stage, what follows is a very brief description of today’s Canadian youth. According to the most recent 2011 census data, the population aged 15 to 24 com- prised 4,324,585 people, or 13 percent of the total population (Galarneau, Morissette, & Usalcas, 2013; Public Health Agency of Canada [PHAC], 2014).2 The majority lives in urban areas. However, the North (Yukon, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut) The Sociology of Childhood and Youth in Canada, edited by Xiaobei Chen, et al., Canadian Scholars, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/concordiaab-ebooks/detail.action?docID=6282142. Created from concordiaab-ebooks on 2024-09-05 19:15:02.  380 SECTION IV CITIZENSHIP, RIGHTS, AND SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT has the youngest population. In 2011, about one-quarter of the population living in the North were aged 15 and under, compared to 5.8 percent who were 65 or older (PHAC, 2014). In Nunavut alone, 28.6 percent of the population was 10 to 24 years old—the highest percentage in Canada (PHAC, 2014). How is Canada’s youth population different from previous generations? Most perti- nent to this discussion, young Canadians are more educated and ethnically diverse than their predecessors. In 2006, over 86 percent of Canada’s youth aged 20 to 24 had earned a high school diploma and over 28 percent had had some postsecondary education (Blais & Loewen, 2011; PHAC, 2014). Particularly of note is the fact that 68 percent of the 25- to 29-year-old demographic holds a postsecondary degree or diploma (Galarneau et al., 2013). In addition, 58 percent of those aged 18 to 24 were full-time students in 2012, compared to 39 percent in 1981 (Galarneau et al., 2013). With regards to employment, younger Canadians experience relatively high un- employment rates and lower wages. In 2012, the unemployment rate among 15- to 24-year-olds was 14.3 percent, double that of the national average (7.2%) (Galarneau et al., 2013). Aboriginal, immigrant, and visible minority youth face the highest unem- ployment rates.3 In addition, they are more likely to be paid the minimum wage and earn $30,000 or less. In 2013, 50 percent of employees aged 15 to 19 and 13 percent of those aged 20 to 24 were paid the minimum wage (Galarneau & Fecteau, 2014). Increasingly, younger Canadians report living at home, having no religious affiliation, and not being married (Bilodeau & Turgeon, 2015; Blais & Loewen, 2011). Canada’s ethnocultural composition has been shaped by its history of European colonization of Indigenous peoples and by immigration. In 2011, Canada’s foreign-born population was 6,775,800, accounting for 20.6 percent of the total population—the highest among the G8 countries (Statistics Canada, 2013a). A greater proportion of Canada’s youth have been born abroad or are the children of immigrants. By 2011, re- cent newcomers aged 15 to 24 made up 14.5 percent of all immigrants arriving within five years of the census (Statistics Canada, 2013a). There is also an important growing second-generation, visible minority Canadian population. In 1971, for example, 75 per- cent of Canadians were Canadian-born from Canadian-born parents: by 2011 this was the case for 66 percent of young Canadians, and by 2031 it is predicted that this pro- portion may decrease to 54 percent (Galarneau et al., 2013). In the 2011 census, the top Copyright © 2018. Canadian Scholars. All rights reserved. self-reported ethnic origin for visible minority youth was South Asian (23.2%), followed closely by Chinese (21.5%) and Black (16.4%) (PHAC, 2014). Canada’s Indigenous peoples also make up a significant—and the fastest-growing— segment of the Canadian population. In Canada there are 254,515 Indigenous youth aged 15 to 24, representing 18.2 percent of the total Indigenous population and 5.9 percent of all Canadian youth (Statistics Canada, 2013b). Between 2006 and 2011, the Indigenous population increased by 20.1 percent (Statistics Canada, 2013b). The Indigenous youth population aged 15 to 24 grew by 19.5 percent, from 212,910 in 2006 to 254,515 in 2011 (Statistics Canada, 2013b). This trend is expected to continue. The Sociology of Childhood and Youth in Canada, edited by Xiaobei Chen, et al., Canadian Scholars, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/concordiaab-ebooks/detail.action?docID=6282142. Created from concordiaab-ebooks on 2024-09-05 19:15:02.  Chapter 19 The Civic and Political Engagement of Canadian Youth 381 Population projections for Canada’s Indigenous youth present four different scenarios: 2.2 percent, 15.9 percent, 26 percent, and 38.9 percent growth rates. Note that in three of these scenarios the Indigenous youth population is expected to grow by at least 15 percent by the year 2031 (Morency, Caron-Malenfant, Coulombe, & Langlois, 2015). YOUTH CIVIC ENGAGEMENT: WHAT IS IT? Youth civic engagement, a relatively new field, is primarily concerned with research, practice, and the development of programs that promote young people’s active participa- tion in civic and political life (Checkoway, 2011; Levine, 2011; Sherrod, Torney-Purta, & Flanagan, 2010). Although consensus has yet to be reached on a single overarching definition of civic engagement, for our purposes here it refers to individual and collective actions aimed at addressing an issue of public concern or contributing to the betterment of the community and society (Checkoway, 2011; Levine, 2011; Sherrod et al., 2010). Civic engagement can take a variety of forms including working in a soup kitchen, serving on a neighbourhood association, writing a letter to an elected official, voting, or protesting. To this day, the field of youth civic engagement has accrued a significant body of knowledge and developed theoretical frameworks, approaches, and practices to promote the informed and active participation of youth. In addition, research shows that youth par- ticipation benefits the individual and society at large. Young people acquire critical knowl- edge and relevant skills, build positive self-esteem, and strengthen their sense of social responsibility (Checkoway, 2011; Head, 2011). Society at large also benefits, as democracy is strengthened by the active involvement of its citizenry all the while providing real op- portunities to develop capabilities for effective citizenship (Barber, 2003; Held, 2006). Youth participation is also a right ratified by the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (Checkoway, 2011; Head, 2011). However, as identified in the literature, an important challenge remains: recognizing and overcoming the limitations imposed by a developmental child rights framework that stresses child welfare over participation. A focus on the protection of children’s participation rights has been the dominant approach to children and youth citizenship (Earls, 2011; Head, 2011; Rehfeld, 2011). While pro- Copyright © 2018. Canadian Scholars. All rights reserved. tection is important, a less prominent view is that of children as democratic citizens with developing capabilities to participate in the governing process (Checkoway, 2011; Rehfeld, 2011). To illustrate, think about the oft-used phrase describing children in government and education policy: “The children of today are the citizens of tomorrow.” This phrase captures a prevalent developmental understanding of children’s citizenship: children be- come citizens at age 18 when they acquire the right to vote and are then expected to assume the roles and duties of adulthood, including acting as informed and participatory citizens (Sherrod et al., 2010). Unfortunately, youth are often seen as citizens-in-waiting, with limited agency, and their actual democratic engagement is barely taken into account The Sociology of Childhood and Youth in Canada, edited by Xiaobei Chen, et al., Canadian Scholars, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/concordiaab-ebooks/detail.action?docID=6282142. Created from concordiaab-ebooks on 2024-09-05 19:15:02.  382 SECTION IV CITIZENSHIP, RIGHTS, AND SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT (Kennelly, 2009; Molina-Girón, 2013). When civic engagement is narrowly viewed as participation in electoral politics, for instance—like voting and party membership—age can become an “artificial barrier” to meaningful citizenship (Earls, 2011, p. 11). The Realms of Youth Civic Engagement Being engaged necessarily involves some form of participation in the public realm. In gen- eral, there are two types of engagement depending on the area of participation: civic and political. Civic participation consists of “non-remunerative, publicly spirited action that is not motivated by the desire to affect public policy” (Campbell, 2006, p. 30). Citizen en- gagement, through this model, is framed mainly as a commitment to the immediate welfare of others and the community. Proponents of civic participation contend that undertaking “good” actions can help develop desirable civic attitudes such as trust and empathy, and can encourage public participation, since being involved awakens young people’s interest in issues that demand government attention (Dalton, 2008; Levine, 2011; O’Neill, 2007). This altruistic framework to civic engagement is the dominant approach being taken to revitalize youth civic engagement in Canada and abroad (Kennelly, 2009; Levine, 2011; Westheimer & Kahne, 2004). Citizenship education programs across Canada of- ten include community service requirements whereby students are asked to do positive, often charitable, acts to help others or better the community. Twenty-two-year-old com- munity organizer Brigette DePape explains the problem with this approach: “We are trapped in a structure that bars us from meaningful engagement.… We are encouraged to do charity or development work … to ‘help the poor’. The mainstream celebrates these philanthropic efforts” (DePape & Shaker, 2012, pp. 19–20). To her, the problem is clear: by championing an altruistic approach to civic engagement “society is failing to show us how to be agents for social change” (DePape & Shaker, 2012, p. 19). There is dis- agreement on whether this kind of participation enhances participation in public affairs. Youth civic participation research in Canada and elsewhere has found that engagement that stresses doing “good actions” like visiting the elderly and cleaning public parks—as desirable as they are—may limit youth engagement towards social change (Kennelly 2009; Molina-Girón, 2013; Westheimer & Kahne, 2004). By contrast, political participation includes “all activities by individual citizens in- Copyright © 2018. Canadian Scholars. All rights reserved. tended to influence either directly or indirectly political choices at various levels of the political system” (Milbrath & La Goel, 1979, p. 2). Democracy requires, and is strength- ened by, citizens’ direct and continual involvement in public decision-making. For many pundits, this kind of engagement is critical to developing effective citizens—citizens concerned with the governing process and collective problems, and having a strong sense of political efficacy (Barber, 2003; Held, 2006). Research indicates that in Canada, as in other Western democracies, young peo- ple have turned away from electoral and other political forms of institutionalized participation like contacting elected officials and party membership, towards more direct, The Sociology of Childhood and Youth in Canada, edited by Xiaobei Chen, et al., Canadian Scholars, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/concordiaab-ebooks/detail.action?docID=6282142. Created from concordiaab-ebooks on 2024-09-05 19:15:02.  Chapter 19 The Civic and Political Engagement of Canadian Youth 383 individualized, and informal modes of participation including demonstrating, online ac- tivism, consumerism politics, volunteering, and membership in civil associations (Cohen, Kahne, Bowyer, Middaugh, & Rogowski, 2012; O’Neill, 2007; Stolle et al., 2013). While some scholars warn that a decline in political participation can lead to a democratic deficit, others contend that the changing forms of participation may represent a new model of youth engagement—that of the “self-actualizing citizen” (Bennett, Wells, & Rank, 2009, p. 105; Bennett, 2012). As such, youth public engagement seems to stem more from a per- sonal expression than from a sense of civic duty—which negatively impacts voting, but not volunteering. Being engaged, then, is something that is seen as personal and meaningful to the individual (Bennett, 2012; Bennett et al., 2009; Cohen et al., 2012). The civic engage- ment of the self-actualizing citizen is interest-driven and “not guided by deference to elites or formal institutions” and it favours interactive, nonhierarchical, peer-to-peer activities to achieve desired goals (Cohen et al., 2012, p. 4; Bennett et al., 2009). Twenty-five-year- old Canadian activist Trace Kaleigh captures the essence of the self-actualizing citizen: “I think,” she asserts, “that the voting system is pretty alienating and disenchanting.… Rather than being apathetic, youth are being very creative and invigorating the ways [we can engage in the democratic process]” (cited in DePape & Shaker, 2012, p. 24). Indeed, recent research suggests that new media—including Facebook, Twitter, and blogs—deeply affect whether and how youth engage with public issues, and that there is greater overlap between civic and political participation than was previously thought (Cohen et al., 2012; Kligler-Vilenchik & Shresthova, 2014; Rundle, Weinstein, Gardner, & James, 2015). Online engagement provides a space and gives voice to youth to act on issues affecting their lives (Caron, Raby, Mitchell, Théwissen-LeBlanc, & Prioletta, 2016; Kligler-Vilenchik & Shresthova, 2014; Rundle et al., 2015). Social media seems to in- crease youth offline participation in political activities, such as voting and working for a political party (Cohen et al., 2012; Kahne, Lee, & Feezell, 2012). Digital participation appears to reduce the participatory gap across racially and ethnically diverse youth groups as well. For example, Rogowski and Cohen (2015) found that Black youth is the group most engaged in online politically oriented activity in the United States, a group that up until the 2008 presidential election had had the lowest levels of political participation. Copyright © 2018. Canadian Scholars. All rights reserved. DO YOUNG CANADIANS PARTICIPATE IN CIVIC AND POLITICAL LIFE? There are many activities that youth undertake to shape the future of the communities in which they live. However, there is growing concern with decreasing levels of youth democratic engagement in electoral politics. It is important to note here that youth civ- ic participation research in Canada and elsewhere has primarily employed large-scale studies that focus on electoral political behaviour, such as voting and political knowledge and interest (Griffin, 2005). Thus, further research is needed to better understand other The Sociology of Childhood and Youth in Canada, edited by Xiaobei Chen, et al., Canadian Scholars, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/concordiaab-ebooks/detail.action?docID=6282142. Created from concordiaab-ebooks on 2024-09-05 19:15:02.  384 SECTION IV CITIZENSHIP, RIGHTS, AND SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT forms of noninstitutionalized participation youth employ to engage in the democratic process. Youth participation research seems to indicate that as a group, young Canadians have the lowest voter turnout rate, lowest affiliation in political parties, and lowest levels of political interest (Bilodeau & Turgeon, 2015; Blais & Loewen, 2011; Gélineau, 2013; Turcotte, 2015a). In the 2015 federal election, the participation of voters aged 18 to 24 increased by 18.3 percent. However, when compared to other age cohort groups, youth aged 18 to 24 have consistently had the lowest voting rates4 in the last three federal elec- tions: 57.1 percent in 2015, 38.8 percent in 2011, and 37.4 percent in 2008 (Elections Canada, 2012, 2016). Further, recent research indicates that youth are more likely to be habitual non-voters, or to systematically abstain from voting at every election (Bilodeau & Turgeon, 2015, p. 4). While only 10 percent of Canadians 35 and older report not having voted in elections, this proportion increases to 31 percent for those aged 25 to 34 and to 47 percent for those 18 to 24 years old (Bilodeau & Turgeon, 2015). In addition, young voters in Canada and in other Western democracies like the United States and the United Kingdom have become less likely to identify with and become members of political parties (Martin 2012; Young & Cross, 2007). In 2000, only 3 percent of party members of registered political parties were aged 25 or younger; those who joined were “unusually privileged … in their exposure to politics and in their socio-economic background” (Young & Cross, 2007, p. 1). Similarly, only 25 percent of those aged 15 to 35 have contacted elected officials compared to 33 percent who are 35 and older (Samara, 2013). Though participation of youth aged 15 to 24 in institutionalized forms of political participation is low, this group does, however, participate in other noninstitutionalized po- litical activities at rates higher than older Canadians (Bastedo, Dougherty, LeDuc, Rudny, & Sommers, 2012; Stolle et al., 2013; Turcotte, 2015a). The 2013 General Social Survey (GSS) revealed that in the previous 12 months, 26 percent of youth aged 15 to 19 and 35 percent of youth aged 20 to 24 had signed a petition, compared with 22 percent of those aged 65 to 74 and 14 percent among those aged 75 and over (Turcotte, 2015a). In addition, they were twice as likely as older cohorts to support causes of public concern by wearing a badge or T-shirt and/or having held a sign at a rally or assembly (Turcotte, 2015a). Nine percent of youth aged 15 to 24 had participated in a demonstration or a march—twice the percentage of any other cohort group (Turcotte, 2015b). Paradoxically, while youth Copyright © 2018. Canadian Scholars. All rights reserved. clearly did engage in substantial political activities, they were less likely to report that they intended to vote in the next federal election (Turcotte, 2015a). Young Canadians engage in individual and collective online and offline actions to address social issues like racism, poverty, and environmental degradation. Their civic actions range from creating videos (Caron et al., 2016), to leading grassroots organizations (DePape & Shaker, 2012), to protesting, to acts of civil disobedience (Kennelly, 2009). While these kinds of activism are legitimate in a democratic society, when they are perceived as being too radical, youth activists can face government and police repression (see Kennelly, 2009). The Sociology of Childhood and Youth in Canada, edited by Xiaobei Chen, et al., Canadian Scholars, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/concordiaab-ebooks/detail.action?docID=6282142. Created from concordiaab-ebooks on 2024-09-05 19:15:02.  Chapter 19 The Civic and Political Engagement of Canadian Youth 385 Youth also display greater levels of volunteerism and membership in civic groups and organizations than older people. Between 2003 and 2013, the participation of youth aged 15 to 24 in voluntary associations rose from 64 percent to 69 percent (Turcotte, 2015a). The highest increase was seen among those aged 15 to 19, with their partici- pation rising from 68 percent to 74 percent (Turcotte, 2015a). According to the GSS, in 2013 66 percent of youth aged 15 to 19 and 64 percent of youth aged 20 to 24 vol- unteered in an organization or association—the highest volunteering rates of all age cohorts in Canada (Turcotte, 2015a). The types of groups that young Canadians were most likely to participate in were sports and recreational organizations, followed by cultural, educational, or hobby organizations (e.g. theatre groups), school groups, or neighbourhood associations (Turcotte, 2015b). Forty five percent of youth aged 15 to 19 and 30 percent of those aged 20 to 24 who volunteer regularly also participate in planned association meetings and activities (Turcotte, 2015a). However, it is important to note that it is citizens with higher incomes and higher levels of education who are more likely to be members of civic-oriented organizations—regardless of the type (Turcotte, 2015a). What do we know of the public engagement of Canadian minority youth? A strik- ing and enduring finding is that in Canada, youth institutionalized political participa- tion is highly unequal: higher-income, better-educated youth are much more likely to participate compared with lower-income, less-educated youth (Bilodeau & Turgeon, 2015; Blais & Loewen, 2011; Gélineau, 2013; Turcotte, 2015a). Box 19.1 discusses cur- rent trends of the electoral participation of majority and minority Canadian youth. It is important to note that besides voting, very little is known of the public involvement of Canadian minority youth. Box 19.1: The Electoral Participation of Majority and Minority Youth in Canada Indigenous, new immigrant, and visible minority youth vote in alarmingly lower num- bers compared with majority youth (Bilodeau & Turgeon, 2015; Ladner & McCrossan, 2007; Tossutti, 2007). Gélineau (2013), for example, found a 20-percentage-point voting gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth. In addition, new re- search reveals that Canadian-born youth vote more often than those who are born Copyright © 2018. Canadian Scholars. All rights reserved. abroad, with a voting gap ranging from 6 (Gélineau, 2013) to 12 percentage points (Blais & Loewen, 2011). “The effect for being a recent immigrant is substantial,” af- firmed Bilodeau and Turgeon (2015, p. 26). Bilodeau and Turgeon (2015) estimated that the probability of having voted in the 2011 federal election for those aged 18 to 24 was 64 percent for Canadian-born youth, compared to 17 percent for recent immigrant youth—a 47-point gap. Further, it is immigrant youth who are most likely to be habitual non-voters: Bilodeau and Turgeon’s study predicts that 23 percent of Canadian-born youth aged 18 to 24 would be habitual non-voters compared with 90 percent of recent immigrant youth (2015). The Sociology of Childhood and Youth in Canada, edited by Xiaobei Chen, et al., Canadian Scholars, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/concordiaab-ebooks/detail.action?docID=6282142. Created from concordiaab-ebooks on 2024-09-05 19:15:02.  386 SECTION IV CITIZENSHIP, RIGHTS, AND SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT DETERMINANT FACTORS OF YOUTH ENGAGEMENT What seems to encourage youth participation in civic and political life? What may ex- plain low levels of youth participation, especially in electoral politics? Certain socioeco- nomic characteristics and political attitudes have been identified as determinant factors with regard to youth public engagement. In the next section, I focus on the factors most often cited in the Canadian-based civic engagement literature.5 Socioeconomic Characteristics Education and place of birth are among the two most significant sociodemographic predic- tors of higher voter turnout and overall higher civic and political participation (Bilodeau & Turgeon, 2015; Blais & Loewen, 2011; Gélineau, 2013; Turcotte, 2015a). Since the impact of place of birth on civic engagement was addressed in the previous section, I will focus here on education and other sociodemographic factors. Blais and Loewen estimated that citizens with higher levels of education “have odds of voting 52% higher than those who do not have post-secondary education” (2011, p. 10). Similarly, Gélineau (2013) concluded that there is an almost 30-percentage-point gap in youth voter turnout between those who have had postsecondary education compared with those who have not. In fact, active students have a 7-percentage-point higher turnout rate than those who are not (Gélineau, 2013). Turcotte’s study further confirmed these findings (2015a): he found that for all age groups, having higher levels of education is positively correlated with increased participa- tion in all types of civic and political activities. Other important factors affecting youth civic and/or political involvement are age and income. Associated with age is the life-cycle effect: people are more likely to vote as they get older (Blais & Loewen, 2011; Gélineau, 2013). However, this pattern does not follow a linear trend: first-time voters (i.e. 18- and 19-year-olds) vote more often than those who were eligible to vote in the previous election (i.e. 20- to 24-year-olds) (Gélineau, 2013). With regards to income, there is a 6-point voter turnout gap be- tween youth aged 18 to 24 with a household income below $40,000 and those above, and an 11-point gap between those aged 25 to 30 (Blais & Loewen, 2011). In contrast, Bilodeau and Turgeon (2015) found a 14-point voting gap between the poorest and Copyright © 2018. Canadian Scholars. All rights reserved. wealthiest Canadians in the 25 to 35 age cohort, but no such relationship was observed among the 18 to 24 age cohort. A counterintuitive relationship was found by Bilodeau and Turgeon (2015): among those aged 18 to 24, being unemployed is positively as- sociated with voting. Socioeconomic status can also impact youth participation in noninstitutional- ized forms of political activity, but evidence is somewhat mixed. In a study of young activists, over three-quarters were from a middle-class background, highlighting the role that socioeconomic status plays in youth decisions to protest to affect public policy (Kennelly, 2009). In contrast, Stolle and colleagues (2013) found that it was The Sociology of Childhood and Youth in Canada, edited by Xiaobei Chen, et al., Canadian Scholars, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/concordiaab-ebooks/detail.action?docID=6282142. Created from concordiaab-ebooks on 2024-09-05 19:15:02.  Chapter 19 The Civic and Political Engagement of Canadian Youth 387 youth with lower socioeconomic resources—e.g. those who felt they could not pay tuition increases, who worked while studying, and who had student loans—who had participated more in the 2012 Quebec student protests compared to their more affluent counterparts. As illustrated, there are diverse forms of civic and political engagement, although voting has been the most measured indicator to investigate youth political participation (Turcotte, 2015a). Even a focus on this relatively easy to measure indicator suggests that there is great disparity among those who actually participate in the democratic process. In Canada, there is an engagement gap along the lines of race and social class. This dis- parity in public engagement has tremendous impact especially on government policy as the voices of the “have-nots” are barely heard. Political Attitudes of Younger Voters Political knowledge, political interest, and belief that voting is a civic duty are strong predictors of voting (Bilodeau & Turgeon, 2015; Blais & Loewen, 2011; Gélineau, 2013; Turcotte, 2015a). Blais and Loewen (2011) found that youth aged 18 to 24 with high levels of political knowledge vote at a rate of 23 percentage points higher than those with little political knowledge. Similarly, Gélineau (2013) reported a 35-point voting gap between the two groups. Unsurprisingly, youth who are interested in politics are more likely to vote, but youth political interest remains low compared to other age cohorts. In a 2013 survey, only 51 percent of youth aged 15 to 19 and 53 percent of youth aged 20 to 24 reported being somewhat or very interested in politics, compared to 61 percent of those aged 35 to 44 and 75 percent of seniors aged 65 to 74 (Turcotte, 2015a). Gélineau (2013) reported that over 50 percent of youth who were interested in the 2011 election voted, compared with only 10.5 percent who voted yet were uninterested in the election. In addition, vot- ing participation rates among youth aged 15 to 24 who follow the news and are informed about politics is 16 (Blais & Loewen, 2011) to 25 (Gélineau, 2013) percentage points higher than among those who were not informed. Recent research reveals a concerning trend for many pundits: youth are less likely to consider voting as a civic duty (Bilodeau & Turgeon, 2015; Turcotte, 2015a). For Copyright © 2018. Canadian Scholars. All rights reserved. example, 48 percent of those aged 18 to 24 would feel guilty if they did not vote com- pared with 55 percent of those aged 25 to 34, and 74 percent of those over 35 (Bilodeau & Turgeon, 2015). Bilodeau and Turgeon (2015) found a 52-point voting gap between Canadians aged 18 to 24 who strongly agree that they would feel guilty if they did not vote (83%) compared with those who admitted they would not experience guilt (31%). Similarly, the propensity to be a habitual non-voter decreases by seven points if a young Canadian feels guilty when not exercising the right to vote (Bilodeau & Turgeon, 2015). Paradoxically, it is a sense of civic duty that motivates youth to volunteer and get en- gaged (Bastedo et al., 2012). The Sociology of Childhood and Youth in Canada, edited by Xiaobei Chen, et al., Canadian Scholars, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/concordiaab-ebooks/detail.action?docID=6282142. Created from concordiaab-ebooks on 2024-09-05 19:15:02.  388 SECTION IV CITIZENSHIP, RIGHTS, AND SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT Having a connection to a political party is also likely to increase the propensity to vote (Bilodeau & Turgeon, 2015; Gélineau, 2013), as is engaging in other forms of political participation such as protesting or signing petitions (Blais & Loewen, 2011; Gélineau, 2013), or believing that one’s vote has the potential to make a difference (Bilodeau & Turgeon, 2015; Turcotte, 2015a). CONCLUSION This chapter has provided an overview of youth civic engagement in Canada and the ave- nues young people aged 15 to 24 use to participate in civic and political life. Increasingly, youth favour noninstitutionalized forms of participation, suggesting a new model of youth civic engagement: that of the self-actualizing citizen. While some scholars have warned that this shift can lead to a democratic deficit, others contend that what is need- ed is a renewed understanding of youth civic engagement that moves beyond tradi- tional markers of engagement such as voting and party membership. Twenty-year-old Canadian artist and student activist Elise Graham clearly expresses this view: “[Youth] I know [are] involved … working with artist-run centres … or local food issues, which people do not see as political, but [they] definitely [are]” (cited in DePape & Shaker, 2012, pp. 25–26). Youth’s changing patterns of democratic engagement compel us to further reflect on what should count towards youth democratic engagement. In addition, youth participation in public life is alarmingly unequal. It is higher- income, better-educated, Canadian-born youth who are more politically involved. Unequal participation among a nation’s citizenry has significant implications: it erodes a nation’s social fabric by excluding those in already marginalized positions. In Canada, it is poor minority youth who become excluded. In addition, this heavily influences who has the power to affect public decision-making and, therefore, who is more likely to benefit from public policies. Full civic participation across social and cultural groups is essential to building a more equal and democratic society. CHAPTER SUMMARY Copyright © 2018. Canadian Scholars. All rights reserved. Together, in this chapter, we Sought to understand what youth civic engagement is and the arenas for public participation including civic, political, and digital. Reviewed institutionalized and noninstitutionalized participatory practices youth employ to engage in the democratic process. Explored the self-actualizing citizen as a new model of youth civic engagement. Identified some key factors and issues hindering youth democratic engagement especially for minority youth. The Sociology of Childhood and Youth in Canada, edited by Xiaobei Chen, et al., Canadian Scholars, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/concordiaab-ebooks/detail.action?docID=6282142. Created from concordiaab-ebooks on 2024-09-05 19:15:02.  Chapter 19 The Civic and Political Engagement of Canadian Youth 389 STUDY QUESTIONS 1. Review your answers to the questions posed in the introduction to the chapter. What have you learned that you did not know before? 2. It is argued that youth favour more direct, individualized, and informal modes of civic participation over institutionalized ones like voting and party membership. In what ways does this shift potentially affect youth’s active participation in the nation’s civic and political life? 3. How politically active and civically engaged do you think you are? What motivates you to be engaged? What deters you from actively engaging in the democratic process? 4. You have been invited to be part of a group designing a federal initiative to strength- en youth civic engagement. What strategies would you suggest? What environments would you target? What civic qualities and capacities would the program stress? Why? 5. What are some of the potential negative consequences of low youth engagement in public life on an otherwise strong democratic society? 6. The active participation in public life is an important aspect of a positive integration of immigrant citizens into Canada’s society. What barriers might immigrants face that deter them from participating in civic and political life? How does unequal participation across groups affect our building a more just and democratic Canadian society? SUGGESTED RESEARCH ASSIGNMENT Research five online and offline practices that can encourage youth, especially under- privileged and ethnic minority youth, to become civically and politically engaged. Ex- plain the potential and most likely drawbacks that the practices can have to encourage youth civic engagement. SUGGESTED FILMS/VIDEO CLIPS The Antidote to Apathy Copyright © 2018. Canadian Scholars. All rights reserved. www.ted.com/talks/dave_meslin_the_antidote_to_apathy?language=en Are we becoming less interested in politics? Toronto-based community activist Dave Meslin contends that people do care, but there are real barriers preventing citizens from public participation. He proposes ways to overcome such barriers. Youth Engagement in Politics: Indifferent or Just Different? www.youtube.com/watch?v=vdDFLzyk94k Youth activist Jacob Helliwell challenges the commonly held view that youth are apa- thetic. He argues that today’s youth are finding new and innovative ways to be engaged beyond the ballot box. The Sociology of Childhood and Youth in Canada, edited by Xiaobei Chen, et al., Canadian Scholars, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/concordiaab-ebooks/detail.action?docID=6282142. Created from concordiaab-ebooks on 2024-09-05 19:15:02.  390 SECTION IV CITIZENSHIP, RIGHTS, AND SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT Envisioning Democracy: Participatory Filmmaking with Homeless Youth carleton.ca/socanth/research-blog/envisioning-democracy-participatory-filmmaking- with-homeless-youth/ Challenges of Somali Youth memuslim.rcinet.ca/mobile/video/index_mobile.php?watch=13 11 Facts about the Gap between First Nations and the Rest of Canada www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWK6ChJw8hs In these three videos, low-income and ethnic minority youth describe the challenges they face in Canadian society, such as discrimination and police violence. In their view, building a strong democratic nation requires fighting existing inequality. The Impact of Digital Media on Youth Political Participation www.civicsurvey.org/content/joseph-kahne-mills-college-professor-education- discusses-impact-digital-media-youth-0 Youth participation researcher Joseph Kahne underscores the importance of digital media to youth public participation. Contrary to conventional wisdom, youth inter- est in nonpolitical online groups can be a catalyst to youth active civic and political engagement. SUGGESTED WEBSITES Samara www.samaracanada.com Samara Canada is a nongovernmental, nonprofit advocacy organization for citizen en- gagement and participation. It conducts research on the state of Canada’s democratic institutions and citizen democratic engagement. Inspire Democracy inspirerlademocratie-inspiredemocracy.ca/index-eng.asp Copyright © 2018. Canadian Scholars. All rights reserved. An Elections Canada initiative, Inspire Democracy is a repository of current and recent research on civic education and youth democratic participation. It also provides tools and resources to strengthen youth public engagement. The Centre for e-Democracy www.centreforedemocracy.com/about-us/ The Centre for e-Democracy is a charitable organization dedicated to initiating, trans- lating, and disseminating research and knowledge on the impact of digital technologies on politics and democracy. The Sociology of Childhood and Youth in Canada, edited by Xiaobei Chen, et al., Canadian Scholars, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/concordiaab-ebooks/detail.action?docID=6282142. Created from concordiaab-ebooks on 2024-09-05 19:15:02.  Chapter 19 The Civic and Political Engagement of Canadian Youth 391 The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) civicyouth.org/ The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIR- CLE) focuses on the civic and political engagement of youth in the United States, pay- ing close attention to marginalized and disadvantaged youth populations. CIRCLE’s scholarly research aims to inform policy and programs to strengthen citizenship educa- tion and participatory democracy. NOTES 1. This chapter focuses on youth aged 15 to 24; however, often a different age range is used. This is due to the distinct age variations used in youth research. 2. Canada’s youth population is declining. In 1971, 19 percent of Canadians were aged 15 to 24. By 2011, this proportion had decreased to 13 percent, and by 2031, Statistics Canada population projections estimate that this proportion could fall to 11 percent (Galarneau et al., 2013). 3. For a complete review on youth employment across various Canadian youth groups (Aboriginal, immigrants, visible minorities, and youth with disabilities), see the report of the House of Com- mons Standing Committee on Finance (2014). 4. Since the federal election of 1980, youth 18 to 24 have consistently had the lowest voting rates— with the exception of the 1997 federal election (Barners & Virgint, 2013). 5. The majority of the youth civic engagement research in Canada comes from large-scale surveys that investigate voter turnout. Further research is needed to better understand determinant fac- tors for other types of civic and political engagement among youth. REFERENCES Barber, B. (2003). Strong democracy: Participatory politics for a new age (2nd ed.). Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. Barners, A., & Virgint, E. (2013). Youth voter turnout in Canada: Trends and issues. Retrieved from www.lop. parl.gc.ca/content/lop/researchpublications/2010-19-e.htm#txtib Copyright © 2018. Canadian Scholars. All rights reserved. Bastedo, H., Dougherty, I., LeDuc, L., Rudny, B., & Sommers, R. (2012). Youth, democracy and civic engage- ment: The “apathy is boring” surveys. Retrieved from www.cpsa-acsp.ca/papers-2012/Leduc.pdf Bennett, W. L. (2012). The personalization of politics: Political identity, social media, and changing pat- terns of participation. The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 644(1), 20–38. Bennett, W. L., Wells, C., & Rank, A. (2009). Young citizens and civic learning: Two paradigms of citizen- ship in the digital age. Citizenship Studies, 13(2), 105–120. Bilodeau, A., & Turgeon, L. (2015). 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The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 633(1), 6–16. Elections Canada. (2012). Estimation of voter turnout by age group and gender at the 2011 federal general elec- tion. Retrieved from www.elections.ca/content.aspx?section=res&dir=rec/part/estim/41ge&document= index&lang=e Elections Canada. (2016). Voter turnout by age group. Retrieved from www.elections.ca/content.aspx? section=res&dir=rec/eval/pes2015/vtsa&document=table1&lang=e Galarneau, D., & Fecteau, E. (2014). The ups and downs of minimum wage. Retrieved from www.statcan. gc.ca/pub/75-006-x/2014001/article/14035-eng.htm#a7 Galarneau, D., Morissette, R., & Usalcas, J. (2013). What has changed for young people in Canada? Retrieved from www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/75-006-x/2013001/article/11847-eng.htm Gélineau, F. (2013). Who participates? A closer look at the results of the national youth survey. Retrieved from inspirerlademocratie-inspiredemocracy.ca/rsch/yth/wpa/wpa-e.pdf Griffin, C. (2005). 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Retrieved from elec- tions.ca/res/rec/part/paper/aboriginal/aboriginal_e.pdf Levine, P. (2011). What do we know about civic engagement? Liberal Education, 97(2), 12–19. Martin, A. (2012). Young people and politics: Political engagement in the Anglo-American democracies. London: Routledge. Milbrath. L. W., & La Goel, M. (1979). Political participation: How and why people get involved in politics. Chicago: Rand McNally. Molina-Girón, L. A. (2013). Educating active citizens: What roles are students expected to play in public life? In L. E. Bass, S. K. Nenga, & J. K. Taft (Eds.), Sociological studies of children and youth: Vol. 16. Youth engagement: The civic-political lives of children and youth (pp. 47–72). Bingley, UK: Emerald. Morency, J., Caron-Malenfant, E., Coulombe, S., & Langlois, S. (2015). Projections of the Aboriginal popu- lation and households in Canada, 2011 to 2031. Retrieved from www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/91-552-x/91-552- x2015001-eng.htm O’Neill, B. (2007). 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Retrieved from ypp.dmlcentral.net/ publications/252 Rundle, M., Weinstein, E., Gardner, H., & James, C. (2015). Doing civics in the digital age: Casual, pur- poseful, and strategic approaches to participatory politics. YPP Research Network. Retrieved from ypp. dmlcentral.net/publications/238 Copyright © 2018. Canadian Scholars. All rights reserved. Samara. (2013). Lightweights? Political participation beyond the ballot box. Retrieved from www.samaracana- da.com/research/active-citizenship/lightweights Sherrod, L., Torney-Purta, J., & Flanagan, C. (Eds.). (2010). Handbook of research on civic engagement in youth. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Statistics Canada. (2013a). Immigration and ethnocultural diversity in Canada: The National Household Survey, 2011. Retrieved from www12.statcan.gc.ca/nhs-enm/2011/as-sa/99-010-x/99-010-x2011001-eng.cfm Statistics Canada. (2013b). Aboriginal peoples in Canada: First Nations people, Métis and Inuit. The National Household Survey, 2011. Retrieved from www12.statcan.gc.ca/nhs-enm/2011/as-sa/99-011-x/99-011- x2011001-eng.cfm The Sociology of Childhood and Youth in Canada, edited by Xiaobei Chen, et al., Canadian Scholars, 2018. ProQuest Ebook Central, http://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/concordiaab-ebooks/detail.action?docID=6282142. Created from concordiaab-ebooks on 2024-09-05 19:15:02.  394 SECTION IV CITIZENSHIP, RIGHTS, AND SOCIAL ENGAGEMENT Stolle, D., Harell, A., Pedersen, E. F., & Dufour, P. (2013). Maple spring up close: The role of self- interest and socio-economic resources for youth protest. Retrieved from profs-polisci.mcgill.ca/stolle/ publications.html Tossutti, L. (2007). The electoral participation of ethnocultural communities. Elections Canada. Retrieved from www.publications.gc.ca/site/eng/460014/publication.html Tupper, J. (2014). Social media and the idle no more movement: Citizenship, activism and dissent in Canada. Journal of Social Science Education, 13(4), 87–94. Turcotte, M. (2015a). Political participation and civic engagement of youth. Statistics Canada. Retrieved from www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/75-006-x/2015001/article/14232-eng.pdf Turcotte, M. (2015b). Civic engagement and political participation in Canada. Statistics Canada. Retrieved