Winning back younger voters

Here’s how progressives and centrists (and anyone who believes in institutions) can win back young and marginalized voters who are turning towards more populist options.

Following up on my previous op-ed looking at the populist turn among young voters, I wrote another piece a couple of weeks ago laying out what institutionally minded parties must do to win them back. Here’s the link, and here’s the full text, if you missed it when it came out:

In a recent column, I argued that centrist and progressive parties in Canada are losing touch with young voters who feel that the social contract no longer functions as it should. Those voters, in turn, are becoming increasingly receptive to more right leaning and populist messages.

Politicians looking to win back those voters need to find ways to rebuild both the idea and reality of Canada as an inclusive and aspirational community. Simply put, they need to rebuild that social contract.

What does that look like?

New leadership, by itself, does nothing, unless it comes with a much broader transformation. Specifically, I see four lines of action needed, including changes in tone, substance, symbolism, and institutions.

First and foremost, politicians must communicate more honestly with Canadians. Most obviously, this means acknowledging mistakes as soon as possible, taking responsibility for the government’s part in them, and laying out credible plans to do better.

If a problem is thorny, politicians need to talk openly about the challenges, the complexities and nuances in ways people can understand, whether the topic is climate, housing, or foreign interference. Dilemmas are called that for a reason. They are inevitably about difficult trade-offs related to competing values.

It should be possible, for instance, to talk frankly about the significant influence that foreign governments have sought to wield in Canadian politics, while also dealing sensitively with the risk of stigmatizing targeted communities in the country. There are, likewise, costs associated with transitioning to a low carbon future, but also significant costs that will result from failing to act. A real conversation would acknowledge both.

Second, and relatedly, Canadians need to see substantive and timely action on the issues that matter to them. If we describe something as urgent, or a crisis, then government ought to act accordingly.

We need a government willing and able to rebuild paths to upward mobility for all Canadians, so that everyone has the opportunity to prosper. This requires an aggressive policy response on housing, but also on issues from health to police reform. If Canada is to continue to thrive, so must its citizens. If it is to be a truly inclusive society, it must be one that all members not only contribute to, but also benefit from.

Third, and again relatedly, Canada needs leaders willing to celebrate Canadian identity in a way that acknowledges and holds space for the complex history of the country, both its successes and its horrors. We can and must take the work of reconciliation seriously. In doing so, we can build a new vision of the country around the promise of building a truly inclusive society going forward, one that all Canadians can be proud of.

Finally, in keeping with the need for complex conversations, we need leaders who are able to simultaneously champion the value of constitutional democratic government and recognize the need for democratic reform in Canada.

Events around the world make it clear we can no longer take democracy for granted. Canada remains a society ruled by the governed, one where all are guaranteed constitutionally enshrined political rights. Our leaders must remain vocal and vigorous defenders of this idea of constitutional democracy on the world stage.

At the same time, no democracy is perfect, and Canada’s is certainly in need of reform. Many citizens really do feel alienated in one way or another. There is a reason why so many subscribe to conspiracy theories to explain the world around them. Indeed, that alienation helps drive the appeal of populist alternatives.

Likewise, there are parts of the Canadian governance machinery that do not function as well as they should. Disconnects between federal and provincial governments over crucial issues such as the settlement of asylum seekers, and the funding necessary to ensure their access to housing and other vital services for them, threaten to undermine the vital Canadian consensus over the value of immigration more broadly.

To address such issues, we need a government that takes seriously the idea of institutional reform and looks for ways we can improve everything from how we vote to federal-provincial relations. We need institutional reforms that ensure leaders hear from and speak to all Canadians, not just those they agree with. We need institutions that encourage compromise and substantive action at all levels of government, rather than more federal-provincial finger pointing.

Again, a change of leader won’t fix everything. It can, however, signal a change in direction. Every moment requires its own style of politics. Right now, Canadians are looking for someone who can speak honestly to their own experiences and frustrations and can articulate a new direction. In an uncertain moment with political violence once more on display, centrist and progressive parties would do well to find a champion of the people who understands both the failures of the past and the value of our political institutions and can articulate a path to a more inclusive future in which all Canadians feel secure and have the opportunity to prosper.