Will these high school students vote strategically? Their ballot is the Student Vote
More than 275 schools in Calgary are signed up to participate in a parallel election
Roughly 800,000 Canadian students are expected to vote this week in a parallel election for their local candidates.
That includes students at 275 schools in Calgary, and more than 1,250 schools in Alberta.
It's a massive effort that often mirrors the results of the general election, and supports a political debate inside the classroom. The students are voting this week, with results compiled and then released for comparison after the polls close on election day.
"We find that students tend to vote less strategically than their parents, and more with their hearts," said Lindsay Mazzucco, executive director of Civix, which organizes Student Vote.
"We have found that … students tend to elect the same governing party as the general population. But where you see some differences is kind of the makeup of Parliament. You'll see maybe more support for the Green Party and the NDP compared to the general population."
Mazzucco co-founded Student Vote with her then boyfriend in 2003 when both were young adults living in their parents' basements. The program supports students from Grade 4 through Grade 12 to learn about the process, policies and candidates. Then they run the polling stations themselves to learn the process.
"A big part of the program is that students go home with their newfound knowledge," she said. "So it really becomes a family affair.… The program is designed to bring democracy to life."
CBC Calgary met with social studies classes at William Aberhart and Central Memorial high schools in the days leading up to the vote. We answered questions about the role of journalism during an election, then invited the students to share what's shaping their vote.
Owen MacKenzie
Owen MacKenzie is a Grade 11 student at William Aberhart High School who said he's deciding his vote based on climate change and international relations.
"I feel like in the last few months, the world order has really been flipped upside down. I think we need a leader who can be strong to address that in a good way," he said.
"I really liked the way [Liberal Leader Mark] Carney, when he was first elected, he went right to Europe and he really shored up our alliances with [French President Emmanuel] Macron and with [U.K. Prime Minister Keir] Starmer."
"He just, right away, made sure of our alliances," MacKenzie said. "He really shored those up and assured that the democratic world order would stay kind of a collective and stay together as one alliance early as Trump is trying to isolate everyone."
MacKenzie is the son of a physio and an athletic therapist. He's hoping to go into law or business. In the days leading up to this election, he said he is leaning toward voting Liberal because of Carney's record on international relations, and because the NDP has less chance of winning in this riding.
Greg Roney
For Greg Roney, a Grade 12 student at William Aberhart, the key issues are affordability and the protection of religious freedom for individuals. He's worried about the rules in Quebec that limit religious expression.
"It puts my religious values at stake; if that's allowed in Quebec, then what's limiting it from spreading to the rest of Canada? But also for the people in Quebec that are being affected by those limitations, I think it's really dangerous for them. They aren't allowed to express their beliefs."
He'd like to hear the party leaders address that. He said he's also concerned about affordability, especially the price of houses and groceries.
"It's going to be worrisome for starting out in a new job, getting a pretty basic salary and not being able to buy a lot of these commodities that we're also used to," he said.
And as for how all this will decide his vote, he said: "I feel like both of the main parties, Liberals and Conservatives, have some strengths this election. Carney seems like he's pretty wise in economics, and [Conservative Leader Pierre] Poilievre seems like he would be able to handle the tariffs and stuff like that a bit more strongly."
"Overall, I'd lean more toward the Conservative Party for just security and I guess just values closer to mine."
Mira Lazorek
For Central Memorial High School student Mira Lazorek, education is top of mind.
She's frustrated after having a class with 50 kids and very little one-on-one time with teachers. Education is primarily a provincial responsibility, but Lazorek said she wishes there was more the federal government would do with support or funding.
But that hasn't been addressed during the campaign. So instead, she's looking at other issues and the personality of party leaders to decide her vote.
"Seeing similarities between Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and some other conservative leaders in the world right now, I don't think that that's the direction that I want our country to go," she said.
"Carney is more positive about everything. I don't like it when politicians attack each other as a campaign strategy. I like when they debate respectfully, and I feel like Mark Carney brings a lot more of that."
Isaiah Laprise
William Aberhart student Isaiah Laprise said the big issue on his mind is the protection of rights for trans people and immigrants because of what he's seen in the United States.
"It just scares me because there's our closest ally and that could possibly happen here. They're deporting people who have visas and actually who live in the United States, who didn't come there illegally."
But what's encouraging is seeing pushback and reassurance from parties on both sides of the political spectrum here, he said.
"That makes me glad for the future."
As for his vote: "I'm more leaning toward the NDP but I won't vote for them, most likely, because the Liberals have a better shot at winning. Even though I agree with the NDP's values more, I'll probably vote for the Liberal Party."
Chanbin Im
Chanbin Im is a Grade 12 student at William Aberhart who said he wishes there was more representation from the smaller parties so voters could be exposed to a greater variety of ideas.
His biggest election issue is the tariffs and how that will affect the economy.
As for voting, "most likely that will be for the Conservatives," he said. "I saw the Conservatives are planning on reducing the taxes imposed on the [business] enterprises."
"This would really benefit and provide security for the enterprises during the process of the international [tariff] discussions with Mexico and the United States following the election."
Marcus Gentile
Marcus Gentile is an undecided voter at Central Memorial. He's in Grade 11 and his key issue is the economy.
"We need to look more at what we can do to help lower the inflation rate and the unemployment rate as well," he said.
"What Carney has done, ending the carbon tax, has really helped with gas prices and with the oil and gas industry.… The tariff threat has really been a big thing. Especially in this province, in Western Canada, it really does affect us because our major industry is oil and gas."
But as for deciding his vote, he's not sure yet.
"It's pretty much two parties now. It's the lesser of two evils. Let's see what happens."
WATCH | Students from across Canada share how they're preparing for Student Vote
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