Apathy is Boring and Jean-Pierre Kingsley Launch Council on Youth Electoral Engagement

PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

May 30, 2012

Apathy is Boring and Jean-Pierre Kingsley Launch Council on Youth Electoral Engagement

Apathy is Boring has convened a new, non-partisan Council on Youth Electoral Engagement with Jean-Pierre Kingsley, former Chief Electoral Officer of Canada (1990-2007), as its founding chair. The Council will ensure that immediate action is taken to engage Canada’s youth in the democratic process.

In the 2011 federal election, only 39% of Canadians aged 18-24 exercised their right to vote. A similar trend is affecting provincial and municipal elections, leading to declining voter turnout across the country. Young Canadians are opting out of the electoral process, and youth who don’t vote when they first become eligible are likely to stay unengaged throughout their lives.

The Council on Youth Electoral Engagement is a non-partisan group of leading citizens from the fields of government, business, academia, journalism, and philanthropy. The Council members share a passion for youth engagement and democracy, as well as a desire to see action taken on this issue.

The founding members of the Council are:

• Jean-Pierre Kingsley (Chair)
  Chief Electoral Officer of Canada (1990-2007)
• The Honourable Lloyd Axworthy
  President and Vice-Chancellor, University of Winnipeg
• André Blais
  Director, Canada Research Chair in Electoral Studies, Université de Montréal
• Piya Chattopadhyay
  Journalist, CBC Radio and TVO
• Penny Collenette
  Adjunct Professor, University of Ottawa Faculty of Law
• Ilona Dougherty
  Executive Director and Co-Founder, Apathy is Boring
• Phil Fontaine
  President, Ishkonigan Inc.
  National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations (1997-2000, 2003-2009)
• Jared Friedman
  President of the Board of Directors, Apathy is Boring
• Roger Gibbins
  President and CEO, Canada West Foundation
• Elisabeth Gidengil
  Director, Centre for the Study of Democratic Citizenship, McGill University
• Frank Graves
  President, EKOS Research Associates
• Richard Johnston
  Canada Research Chair in Public Opinion, Elections, and Representation
  University of British Columbia
• The Right Honourable Paul Martin<
  Prime Minister of Canada (2003-2006)
• The Honourable Audrey McLaughlin
  Leader of the New Democratic Party of Canada (1989-1995)
• Peter G. White
  Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and lifelong political activist

A list of the Council members with titles and photos is available online. Biographies are also available upon request.

“Two of the key causes of low participation in elections are a lack of access, and a lack of motivation,” said Jean-Pierre Kingsley. “Electoral stakeholders in Canada have been working hard to improve accessibility. The Council on Youth Electoral Engagement will focus on motivating and mobilizing young Canadians to exercise their right to vote.”

The Council will hold its inaugural meeting in the immediate future, and focus on promoting effective practices in youth electoral engagement. This will be done by supporting the work of organizations including Apathy is Boring, which has been working since 2004 to educate unengaged young Canadians about the democratic process.

Apathy is Boring looks forward to working with the Council members to engage a new generation of citizens in Canada’s democracy.

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Apathy is Boring in a national, non-partisan, charitable organization that uses art and technology to educate youth about democracy.

http://www.ApathyisBoring.com
@apathyisboring

For more information contact:
Bernard Rudny
Elections and Program Strategy Coordinator, Apathy is Boring

514-844-2472

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