Even though they are under the voting age,  144,359 elementary and high school students throughout Ontario had the opportunity to vote for candidates running for their municipal councils and school boards.

The Student Vote program is an experiential learning program that enables teachers to bring democracy alive in the classroom, and empowers students to practice the habits of active and engaged citizenship. This was the third election — and Student Vote — held in Ontario in just thirteen months, with the federal election in September 2021, provincial in June 2022, and the municipal elections this fall.

CBC Toronto’s Samantha Lui got to see the Student Vote first-hand on October 21, in a visit to Cosburn Middle School, for a Metro Morning radio segment.

8EXF planning for @studentvote in #TorontoDanforth. We had the pleasure to host @metromorning where Ss shared their expertise about candidates and issues that affect them @npersaudLC4 @tdsb @LC4_TDSB @CBCToronto pic.twitter.com/U7SDtI8p1x

— Cosburn MS (@CosburnMS) October 12, 2022

Participating students learned about municipal government and school boards through lesson plans, videos and slide decks, and explored the issues and candidates through interactive classroom activities, family discussion and campaign events. For example, students at Patrick Fogarty Catholic High School in Orillia got to hear the city’s mayoral candidates respond to questions from students in a Student Vote candidates meeting on October 20.

In the culminating activity of the Student Vote, students took on the roles of election officials and coordinated a vote within their schools.

Outside the Greater Toronto Area, the entire student body at Sudbury’s Bishop Alexander Carter Catholic Secondary School participated in a Student Vote on October 20. The Sudbury Star reports that Bishop Alexander Carter had the highest percentage of students participating last year during the provincial Student Vote.

“Student Vote is a program that our entire school community remains passionate about,” Stephanie Venturi, principal of Bishop Alexander Carter CSS, said in a press release from the Sudbury Catholic District School Board. “As a direct result of the hands-on and realistic approach this program offers, many students have chosen to exercise their right to vote once eligible. We want to thank Student Vote Ontario for providing us with the necessary tools and materials to stage these mock events during election periods.”

“This exercise provided us with the opportunity to research the candidates and make an informed decision,” added Gracie Auger, a Grade 12 student at Bishop Alexander Carter. “I really enjoyed the event. Participating in the mock election has given me the confidence to vote in a real election once I am eligible.”

“They don’t fully understand until they look into these municipal elections,” Jessica Firth, a teacher at E.L. Crossley Secondary School in Fonthill, told The St. Catharines Standard. “Why do we have a school board trustee? Why do we have a regional councillor? If they’re not getting taught that in our class, they would never even think to question it.”

Firth said part of her classroom discussion was about voter turnout, and how “sad it is that so little people vote in municipal elections.” By bringing the electoral process to the classroom, this is something Student Vote hopes to change.

The students @LPS_CDHowe in @CityThunderBay had there voices heard in their #StudentVote today. We await the results of Monday’s municipal election 🗳️ to see if the population has the same views. #LPStb @LakeheadSchools @CIVIX_Canada @ElectionsCan_E pic.twitter.com/f00Y9o5OwD

— Mr McCreery (@DanMcCreery) October 21, 2022

C.D. Howe Public School in Thunder Bay also took part in this year’s Student Vote. Sara Kae of CBC Thunder Bay checked in with those students in a radio interview on Up Here.

“It’s really important for students to get involved in politics so that we can make bigger changes for future generations,” Lily Penrose, a Grade 12 student at Catholic Central High School in Windsor, told CBC News.

Civics teacher Paul Prsa is the organizer of the Student Vote program at Catholic Central. 

“It’s part of my civic duty and part of my job as a teacher to educate the students in it, and it’s just a natural progression to do that. I get them probably before they’re actually able to vote but once I get them thinking about some of the issues maybe later on they will become voting.”

In an interview with CBC Windsor, CIVIX’s Outreach Manager Ruth Matthew echoed that sentiment, saying that “by giving [students] the sense of agency and ownership and empowerment, it shows them that the voting process is not as intimidating as it might seem.” Below, check out Ruth’s interview with The Morning Show on CHEX in Peterborough:

 

Based on current tallies, 1,281 schools have submitted their Student Vote results, from 222 municipalities throughout Ontario.

HIGHLIGHTS:

• Toronto: John Tory was elected mayor.
• Ottawa: Catherine McKenney was elected mayor.
• Hamilton:  Andrea Horwath was elected mayor.
• Brampton: Patrick Brown was elected mayor.
• Mississauga: Bonnie Crombie was elected mayor.
• Oakville: Rob Burton was elected mayor.
• Greater Sudbury: Bob Johnston was elected mayor.
• London: Josh Morgan was elected mayor.
• Markham: Frank Scarpitti was elected mayor.
• Windsor: Drew Dilkens was elected mayor.
• Kitchener: Berry Vrbanovic was elected mayor.
• Burlington: Marianne Meed Ward was elected mayor.
• Vaughan: Steven Del Duca was elected mayor.
• Richmond Hill: David West was elected mayor.
• Thunder Bay: Peng You was elected mayor.

The complete results for all municipalities and school boards can be found here.

The Student Vote program for the 2022 Ontario municipal and school board elections is supported by the Ontario Ministry of Education, Government of Canada, Ontario Secondary School Teachers’ Federation, Ontario English Catholic Teachers’ Association, Elementary Teachers’ Federation of Ontario, Your Canada Your Constitution and several private foundations.