November 4, 2008 goes down in the books as one of the most exciting presidential elections in America’s history. And that excitement seems to have stirred America’s neighbour to the north, too.
Canadian campuses were brimming with enthusiasm on Tuesday evening when, in dozens of campus-organized events, thousands of students gathered to watch the presidential election results.
At the University of Toronto’s Hart House, a leading centre for social activity, hundreds of students packed into the map room to listen to a panel of U.S. policy experts and watch the drama unfold on the big screen.
Abby Ralph, a U of T student and one of the event coordinators, was surprised at the big turnout. “We’re so pleased right now. We thought maybe it would get a little busier at 8 or 9 p.m., but we were not expecting this many people right away.”
Students like Emma, who arrived just after 6 p.m. when the event began, could not believe the crowd. “The turnout is amazing. I can’t even get into the room!” She pauses, then laments, “Where was this kind of interest for the Canadian election?”
Canada’s federal election last month recorded one of the lowest voter turnouts in history, at just 59 per cent. In some parts of the country like Newfoundland and Labrador, less than half of registered voters (48 per cent) cast their ballots. But it would be misleading to suggest that Canadians are not interested in politics per se – it might just be Canadian politics.
“This has been an interesting turnaround,” says Professor Arnd Jürgensen, who teaches a U.S. foreign policy course at U of T. “Generally the voter turnout in Canada has been higher than it has been in the United States.”
Jürgensen explains that the reason for the low turnout was partly because of the candidates.
“The Liberals didn’t seem very enthusiastic about their leader [Stephane Dion]. On some of the issues there wasn’t a great deal of difference between [the parties], in particular on foreign policy.”
The two main contenders, the Liberals and the Conservatives, more or less agreed on some important issues, such as maintaining Canadian troops in Afghanistan until 2011.
On the other hand, the U.S. election has been characterized by marked differences, one of the most prominent being the election of the first black president in the United States. The symbolism of this is certainly huge. In fact, it is fair to say that history is in the making.
But race is not the only factor that shook the election. Obama also becomes the first baby boomer president with the ability to mobilize the young generation in an effective way. National polls show that, in contrast to McCain’s 32 per cent, Obama received an overwhelming 66 per cent of the 18-to-29 year old vote — the largest percentage vote of any age group.
Students like Emma caution against the notion that young people are impressed by young politicians more so than older ones.
“People say, ‘oh, if only we had younger candidates in Canada, most young people would be interested.’ I really hope that’s not the case. I think what we are lacking in Canada is student outreach.”
The ability to reach out to young voters at the grassroots level is a stunning achievement of the Obama campaign. On social networking sites like Facebook, Obama’s powerful presence has become a key tool in garnering support from the young generation. More than a hundred Obama support groups have been created, and groups like ‘One Million Strong for Obama’ live up to their name.
Across the street from the Hart House event, hundreds of people — college students, seniors, and everyone in between — crowd into the Munk Centre for International Studies to watch the polling results come in. Complete with vintage campaign songs and a pundit salon, the celebrations last all night long.
Canadian students are not the only ones basking in the excitement. Raswinder Gill, an International Relations student from Singapore, sees the importance of following the U.S. Election.
“We do have a lot of trade relations with the U.S., so the elections would have a direct impact on my country.”
As the most dominant economic and military power in the world, politics in America has taken on an appeal that transcends domestic borders.
At the end of the evening Abby remarks: “The entire world is watching and waiting to see what happens.”
The road to restoring America’s standing in the world will not be an easy one, but Americans have just elected an energetic president to fulfil the daunting task at hand. Yet Canadians, as demonstrated by their enthusiasm from the American election, are interested in politics and are looking for that same leadership to invigorate the political base at home.
Borrowing from Obama’s well-known “yes we can” motto, can we, Canada, inspire Canadian voters to become politically active once again?
Yes, we can – and we certainly should.
Canadian campuses were brimming with enthusiasm on Tuesday evening when, in dozens of campus-organized events, thousands of students gathered to watch the presidential election results.
At the University of Toronto’s Hart House, a leading centre for social activity, hundreds of students packed into the map room to listen to a panel of U.S. policy experts and watch the drama unfold on the big screen.
Abby Ralph, a U of T student and one of the event coordinators, was surprised at the big turnout. “We’re so pleased right now. We thought maybe it would get a little busier at 8 or 9 p.m., but we were not expecting this many people right away.”
Students like Emma, who arrived just after 6 p.m. when the event began, could not believe the crowd. “The turnout is amazing. I can’t even get into the room!” She pauses, then laments, “Where was this kind of interest for the Canadian election?”
Canada’s federal election last month recorded one of the lowest voter turnouts in history, at just 59 per cent. In some parts of the country like Newfoundland and Labrador, less than half of registered voters (48 per cent) cast their ballots. But it would be misleading to suggest that Canadians are not interested in politics per se – it might just be Canadian politics.
“This has been an interesting turnaround,” says Professor Arnd Jürgensen, who teaches a U.S. foreign policy course at U of T. “Generally the voter turnout in Canada has been higher than it has been in the United States.”
Jürgensen explains that the reason for the low turnout was partly because of the candidates.
“The Liberals didn’t seem very enthusiastic about their leader [Stephane Dion]. On some of the issues there wasn’t a great deal of difference between [the parties], in particular on foreign policy.”
The two main contenders, the Liberals and the Conservatives, more or less agreed on some important issues, such as maintaining Canadian troops in Afghanistan until 2011.
On the other hand, the U.S. election has been characterized by marked differences, one of the most prominent being the election of the first black president in the United States. The symbolism of this is certainly huge. In fact, it is fair to say that history is in the making.
But race is not the only factor that shook the election. Obama also becomes the first baby boomer president with the ability to mobilize the young generation in an effective way. National polls show that, in contrast to McCain’s 32 per cent, Obama received an overwhelming 66 per cent of the 18-to-29 year old vote — the largest percentage vote of any age group.
Students like Emma caution against the notion that young people are impressed by young politicians more so than older ones.
“People say, ‘oh, if only we had younger candidates in Canada, most young people would be interested.’ I really hope that’s not the case. I think what we are lacking in Canada is student outreach.”
The ability to reach out to young voters at the grassroots level is a stunning achievement of the Obama campaign. On social networking sites like Facebook, Obama’s powerful presence has become a key tool in garnering support from the young generation. More than a hundred Obama support groups have been created, and groups like ‘One Million Strong for Obama’ live up to their name.
Across the street from the Hart House event, hundreds of people — college students, seniors, and everyone in between — crowd into the Munk Centre for International Studies to watch the polling results come in. Complete with vintage campaign songs and a pundit salon, the celebrations last all night long.
Canadian students are not the only ones basking in the excitement. Raswinder Gill, an International Relations student from Singapore, sees the importance of following the U.S. Election.
“We do have a lot of trade relations with the U.S., so the elections would have a direct impact on my country.”
As the most dominant economic and military power in the world, politics in America has taken on an appeal that transcends domestic borders.
At the end of the evening Abby remarks: “The entire world is watching and waiting to see what happens.”
The road to restoring America’s standing in the world will not be an easy one, but Americans have just elected an energetic president to fulfil the daunting task at hand. Yet Canadians, as demonstrated by their enthusiasm from the American election, are interested in politics and are looking for that same leadership to invigorate the political base at home.
Borrowing from Obama’s well-known “yes we can” motto, can we, Canada, inspire Canadian voters to become politically active once again?
Yes, we can – and we certainly should.
