Who We Are

Be the Vote is a not-for-profit organization working to encourage more youth to vote in Canada, through the use of creative awareness and information campaigns. Be the Vote is non-partisan and is powered by volunteers. Our team is passionate about the right to vote and increasing political participation in Canada

Our Story

In 2014, a group of youth concerned with the trend of low voter turnout among young Canadians organized in hopes of helping to increase voter turnout in the 2015 federal election. A small group from Manitoba,  grew to include members from Ontario and British Columbia. During the 2015 federal election, Be the Vote was supported by over 30 volunteers.

Many other organizations and individual citizens also saw the importance of increasing youth voter participation in 2015. Be the Vote activities during the 42 general election were supported by over 75 contributors, 3 media and entertainment groups, and collaboration/partnership with 10 not-for-profit organizations.

Be the Vote conducted street outreach, awareness campaigns on television, YouTube, social media and traditional media, and, workshops directed at youth in the community. Check out our 2015 federal election report

In the summer of 2016, Elections Canada released an estimate of voter turnout among youth: 57% of those aged 18-34 had voted in the 2015 federal election [1]. This substantial increase is a result of many factors, however, Be the Vote is proud to have helped encourage and inform young voters.

 

References

[1] Elections Canada. 2016. “Voter Turnout by Age”. http://www.elections.ca/content.aspx?section=res&dir=rec/eval/pes2015/vtsa&document=table1&lang=e