By Jacob Deegan

Last year, on December 2nd, I turned 16. Rather than spending my birthday at a Service Ontario outlet applying for my driver’s license, I spent it in Ottawa. I went to Ottawa to attend the swearing-in of Finance Minister Bill Morneau as the Member of Parliament for Toronto Centre.

I spent the last federal election campaign volunteering for Minister Morneau. Canvassing for Team Morneau was a fantastic experience that taught me many things about our democracy, about people, and about the issues that are important to people.

With over 100,000 people, Toronto Centre is a densely populated and very diverse riding. It includes areas like Regent Park, Moss Park, St. Jamestown, Cabbagetown, the Church and Wellesley village, and the bank towers. Most of my time on the campaign trail was canvassing at the door in Moss Park and Regent Park. It was a part of the city that I didn’t know all that well. My job was to encourage people to vote and to see if they needed help getting to the polling station on election day. 

Almost without exception, the people who greeted me at the door were friendly and were pleased that someone from a political party wanted to talk to them. Most people enjoyed sharing their views on politics with someone else and feeling like their concerns were heard. Regardless of their political ideologies, I had a friendly and positive discussion with almost everyone at the door. This stood in stark contrast to the federal leaders’ debate and showed me that most Canadians just want to solve issues in their communities in a collaborative manner. Many, especially the senior citizens, were also excited to see a kid campaign and be politically involved.

In the media, I have heard and read a great deal about voter cynicism and that the electorate is either tuned out or not well-informed. From the people I visited, I believe the public cares passionately about issues that matter to real people, and they are very knowledgeable and engaged. I was struck by how much people cared about affordable housing, public transit infrastructure, climate change, immigration, and equality for all. Many of the people I met were relatively new to Canada. They came to Toronto Centre from every corner of the globe. They left places that offered few opportunities for a better life and where democracy either didn’t exist or wasn’t functioning as it should. Some told me proudly that they were voting for the first time.   

It was fascinating to watch Minister Morneau up close. Political campaigns can get a little nasty.  In this context, it was great to see Minister Morneau and his Conservative opponent Ryan Lester have warm words back and forth at the Cabbagetown Festival. These two gentlemen proved that you can disagree over policy without being disagreeable. Minister Morneau also really cared about what his constituents were thinking and asked every volunteer who went on the canvas what they heard from voters.

On election night, I worked as a scrutineer and relayed results from my polling station back to the office. At the party later that night, Minister Morneau thanked all the volunteers. I thought to myself, here is a G7 Finance Minister hanging out with a kid like a bunch of other volunteers and me. While he deals with the country’s finances and significant geopolitical issues with his counterparts around the world, he clearly couldn’t get to that position without volunteers. In the United States, which is in desperate need of campaign finance reform, money talks. In Canada, with much lower donation limits, the ground game, which is made up of tens of thousands of volunteers across the country, is what matters.        

I am still too young to vote, but I believe our generation has a responsibility to engage in society. I don’t know how long this minority government will last. However, I do know that I will volunteer next election, and I will encourage other kids my age to do the same thing. I had the privilege of getting to know the Minister of Finance while campaigning, of learning from people in my community, of meeting the Prime Minister at a rally, and of visiting the House of Commons.

Today, during the COVID-19 pandemic, we are unable to go door to door and talk with our fellow citizens; however, that does not mean we should shut the world out. Reaching out to people using technology and talking about the issues that are important to us is more important than ever. During this pandemic, it is easy to be consumed with COVID news and forget about the other issues we care about. While it is essential to social distance and to take this crisis seriously, we also must remember our values when we begin to tackle the challenge of reopening the country.