In almost every federal election since 1963, when 79.2 per cent of Canadians cast a ballot, the popular vote has declined. In 2008, it reached a nadir of 58.8 per cent. Canadians seem more distanced from their federal government than at any time in living memory. While separatism may be on the wane in Quebec, apathy could well be the biggest threat to national unity. What's causing it? And what do we do about it? Five reasons stand out for what's wrong with Parliament, and why you should care about fixing it.
1. Ottawa's irrelevant
In 1995, Liberal Finance Minister Paul Martin confronted a crippling federal deficit. To fight it, he cut transfer payments to the provinces. The provinces howled, but then eventually realized that if Ottawa didn't send as much money, then it also didn't have as much say. From that time on, responsibility for health care, education, welfare, roads, housing – just about anything that matters in day-to-day life – has been mostly a provincial or municipal affair. People don't watch what goes on in Ottawa because the federal government doesn't do anything any more.
But: Actually, the federal government does plenty, and could do more.
When the financial crisis hit in autumn of 2008, it wasn't to Queen's Park or Edmonton that voters turned their eyes. The federal government still holds all the big fiscal levers. It takes most of your tax money, it looks after your pensions (though the provinces have a say), it manages inflation and interest rates (through the Bank of Canada). Ottawa and the provinces are about to enter protracted negotiations over health care and equalization because the federal government is still a major player in funding them.
Your federal government does other things. Only Ottawa can send you to war. It's also solely responsible for the Criminal Code. It sets immigration policy and negotiates trade treaties. It decides how big your phone and Internet bill will be, and how fast you can surf, because it regulates telecommunications. It permits dairy quotas. It decides whether you can take liquids or gels on an airplane.
Ottawa might act behind the scenes, sometimes, but it is still the most important government in your life. If it wasn't there, you'd notice. And its role is evolving.
The Conservative government has proposed a national securities regulator. What if all regulation was transferred up to the federal level, replacing the patchwork of provincial regimes? What if it acted firmly to prohibit interprovincial trade barriers? What if one common standard applied to licensing doctors and teachers? There's more our federal government could do for us, if we let it.
2. Ottawa is old, white and male
Indeed it is. The millennial generation – those who came of age in the past decade or so – vote less than anyone else. In the 2008 election, the turnout among voters under 25 was less than 40 per cent. For those 25 to 34, it was 48 per cent.
In part that's because younger people don't see themselves reflected in their political leadership.
Three of the four federal leaders are in their 60s. (Stephen Harper is 51.) And Parliament is still an old boys' club. Women and members of visible minorities are seriously underrepresented in the House of Commons.
But: That can change.
In the 2008 U.S. elections, voters under 30 cast 18 per cent of ballots, helping to make Barack Obama President. There is a powerful argument in favour of generational change at the federal level in Canada as well.
The best way to effect that change is for voters to make their voices heard and feared. A House of Commons with younger leaders might pay more attention to fighting global warming, a key concern among younger voters. If there were more visible-minority MPs, there might also be more resources for immigrant language and skills training, and for getting professionals with degrees from offshore certified. A House with more women might get serious about providing child-care resources in the workplace.
