Have your say, vote in May

It’s seems as if the media here in Canada is doing more to encourage Canadians to get out and vote than the political leaders and their parties.  Every night I turn on CBC’s The National there is tons of news about the election, but if the news didn’t cover it would I hear anything the candidates have to say?  I don’t know if I would.

I’ll vote because it’s my right.  Millions of people in other countries are fighting for democracy.  Thousands of people are dying in Libya, hundreds of people died in Egypt and countless people die in countless countries because they want the right to vote but don’t have it.  But Canadians don’t vote.  In the last federal election in 2008, only 58.8% of Canadians voted.  Holy crap, does any one else think that’s that ridiculous?

But why don’t we vote?  Is it because all the parties are pretty much the same, so really who cares?  Is it because Canadians are so not interested in politics we don’t even take the time to learn about what each party, each candidate stands for?  Or is it that neither of the parties makes us care about them?

I think it’s a combination of all of these things.  So where are the leaders?  Why aren’t they reaching out to the public more through Facebook or Twitter? Sure, they travel around the country holding town halls, but how many of us actually go?

CBC is trying to get Canadians interested in the election through an online poll they’ve created called Vote Compass.  The poll asks you a series of questions regarding important issues and calculates which party most aligns with your values.  The poll is super simple.  Fill out a bit of information, and then clip through a series of questions – literally it took me 5 minutes.  As of the other night, over 800,000 Canadians had been on Vote Compass.  Hopefully this is a sign that more Canadians will turn out to the polls this year to make their choice.  Go on to Vote Compass, and find out which party most aligns with your values.  Then scroll through the Election 2011 information to find out more.

We have this great liberty to vote, so let’s use it.  You decide whom you want to make a change in our country, don’t let the rest of the country, or 58.8% of it, decide fore you.  The 800,000 people that have gone on Vote Compass are only a small portion of the 33 million people in this country.  Make your vote count this time.