Federal Candidates vie for the “Student Vote” at GREC

Julie Druker | Oct 08, 2015

Granite Ridge students in Mr. McVety's grade 12 history class headed up a meeting of the federal candidates on October 5 in preparation for the school’s participation in the 2015 Student Vote program.

The program, which began in 2003, offers parallel election events for students under the voting age, and this year it coincides with the federal election. The program gives students an opportunity to experience the voting process and encourages the habits of informed and engaged citizenship in young students across the country. The student vote will take place on October 14, and it is interesting to note that during the last federal election, the student vote results closely mirrored the final election results.

In preparation for the Monday meeting at GREC, McVety's grade 12 history students prepared a school survey asking students to rank various issues from most to least important and the surveyed students were also invited to put forth questions to the candidates.

The main issues resulting from the survey were: health care, which ranked first, followed by education and employment, and last on the list were issues of security and safety.

All four federal candidates in the riding of Lanark Frontenac Kingston: Scott Reid, Conservative; Anita Payne, Green Party; John Fenik NDP; and Phil Archambault, Liberal, took part in the meeting and a total of seven questions, including ones on affordable post-secondary education; improving health care and unemployment; the protection of the environment; terrorism; as well as the use of recreational and medicinal marijuana, were covered.

I spoke to grade 12 students, Sadie Clarke and Emily Brooks, who helped organize the event and asked them following the meeting if the candidates’ responses had swayed their initial leanings. Clarke who said she, like her parents, was leaning towards Fenik and the NDP party said that she felt that Fenik answered the questions to her satisfaction and she will be voting for him. “I think John Fenik spoke really well and really managed to connect well with the students. Instead of just focusing on a lot of facts, he tried to focus more on our futures and what we as student are facing.”

Both Brooks and Clarke said that they came away confused by Conservative candidate Scott Reid's response to the question, put forth by grade 12 student Taylor Meeks concerning the candidate’s position on the use of recreational and medicinal marijuana. “The Conservative (Scott Reid) seemed to be disagreeing with his own party and I found that kind of confusing,” Clarke said, and Brooks agreed. At the meeting Reid stated that while he personally agrees with legalizing marijuana, his party does not. Brooks said that while she doesn't tend to pay much attention to politics prior to the Student Vote program, she does like a chance to meet the candidates in person and to hear their responses to the questions posed. She said she liked Fenik’s response to the question put forth by grade 11 student Corri-Lyn, who asked, “What is your party doing to make post-secondary education more affordable for students?” Fenik said that his party will be making more grants as well as interest-free loans available to those wanting to attend post-secondary schooling. Brooks said that that issue is important to her because “post-secondary education is the next step for me in my life.”

Regarding their predictions for the outcome of the student vote, Brooks said though she is personally leaning towards the NDP, she thinks that the Liberal and Conservative candidates seemed to be ahead at the school prior to the meeting. Clarke said she feels confident that either the Liberal or NDP candidates would come out on top. “Both the Liberal and NDP candidates seemed more friendly and interactive with the audience whereas the Conservative and Green Party candidates just stated a lot of facts and the audience seemed more quiet when they were speaking”, she said.

The results of the 2015 Student Vote will be tallied up and announced on the CBC News on Election Day.