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Voting Preferences of Canadian Seniors

dreamstime_s_42038718We are only days away from an election which will determine many aspects of our day to day lives for the next four years and beyond. As a senior voter, do you feel empowered? Are you hoping for a change in leadership? Or do you feel that it will be the “same old, same old”, and that nothing changes with a new government anyway?

You Are Part of a Very Influential Group

In actual fact, you, as a member of the oldest demographic in Canada have many reasons to feel that we can affect change. Statistics Canada reports that 1.9 million people aged 65 to 74 voted during the 2011 federal election. We have the highest voter turnout percentage of all age groups during federal elections —up to 75.1 in 2011, and 77.5 percent in 2006. For people 75 and older, the percentage was a very healthy 60.3%.

This is what Susan Eng, of CARP says about us:

They’re a huge group. They’re very diverse, but they’re also a very proactive group. It would be unwise for politicians and others to think of them as homogeneous.

Our voting record says a lot about us. It suggests that we still hold the same values we demonstrated decades ago, when we went about establishing the infrastructure and services that have served this country so well. Although Elections Canada acknowledges that we do not vote in a homogeneous group, we do vote for a common purpose; to preserve and grow a strong economy, and maintain our caring society.

Other Groups May Resent Our Voting Power

Not everyone holds such a generous opinion of our voting patterns. Some accuse us of being entrenched, and voting for self serving reasons. Some also accuse us of voting as “we have always done.”

But The Canadian Association for Retired Persons (CARP), in a study targeting voting practises of elders, suggests that older voters are not necessarily loyal to a particular political party, and are prepared to change their vote on issues that they care about. CARP says seniors are among the most politically engaged Canadian citizens.

You Enjoy a Unique Awareness of Issues

We all have things that concern us about how our country is run, and how government impacts us. Here are some issues that affect seniors directly:

  • Care of people with dementia and other cognitive impairments
  • Shortage of geriatricians
  • Poverty among seniors
  • Affordable seniors’ housing
  • Creation of a national Pharmacare program
  • End of life care

You have the perspective and wisdom gained from your many years of experience. You have stayed informed and care deeply about issues that affect future generations:

  • Employment for the young
  • Student debt load
  • Affordability of housing
  • The threat to our climate
  • Pension reform for all Canadians
  • Preservation of our social safety net

A report about the issues that concern us in Seniors Vote says this:

Income inequality is growing in Canada. More seniors are falling below the poverty line. Seniors are also concerned that too many of their children and grandchildren are facing precarious work and a bleak future.

You Can Have a Huge Impact on the Outcome

As a senior voter, and a member of a group with an impressive voting record, you are in a position to truly influence the direction of this critical election. You have friends and family in your life who respect your many years of experience, and who may be willing to discuss these issues with you. Letting younger people in your life know that you are aware of political issues that affect them goes a long way in helping them reach an informed conclusion about how to vote.

As for your own vote—you have shown that you take voting very seriously, bringing the knowledge and heft of your experience to the exercise. As a generation that has seen countless elections come and go, and has lived through the repercussions, we know that any action by our government begins with an action by us at the ballot box.

5 thoughts on “Voting Preferences of Canadian Seniors”

  1. Great entry!

    Thanks for all the links. I enjoy the variety, and depth of the information you bring forward, always a pleasure to read.

    Just a note about CARP, I am leery of them, with so many seniors falling well below the poverty line, their literature, albeit the last time I saw it was in a library several years ago, is full of thin, beautiful, model types with seemingly copious amounts of money for discretionary activities. I could not afford their fees for membership, did not feel they represented my reality in a meaningful way, and wonder what economic demographic is represented in their research. I don’t regard them as a “grass roots” organization, but an middle/upper class lobby group. They certainly do not speak for me. Just my impression.

    1. I agree. It seems consumeristic and lacking in high ideals. We are the generation that brought anti-establishmentarianism into the vocabulary yet they stereotype us by our age into leisure loving, self-absorbed and preoccupied with personal care. No wonder younger generations don’t trust anyone over 30 hahaha

  2. I haven’t seen a CARP magazine for some time, but will try to read it online. I have seen a copy of Zoomer recently, and felt as you do about CARP. Unfortunately the demographic Zoomer is trying to reach seems to be about 55 years of age. Smacks of ageism to me! Thanks for the comment.

  3. I can’t help but feel wistful for the way Boomers used to be when I was a teenager. We were against war, in favor of helping each other, and interested in positive change. Now that we’re older, there’s a huge chunk of us that seems to have moved toward the opposite. Your Canadian model is an inspiration. Thanks for another thoughtful post.

    1. Thanks, Lynne. We have our faults too! I think one of the important things that we are losing is the sense that older, mature people actually have wisdom, and can guide younger people. I feel its a luxury to just stand by and do nothing. We really do need to speak out!

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