More than 700,000 elementary and high school students across the country participated in Student Vote Canada, coinciding with the 2021 federal election.
After learning about democracy and elections, researching the parties and platforms, and debating the future of the country, students cast their ballots for the official candidates running in their school’s electoral district.
The students got it right in Simcoe North - sort of.
According to the Student Vote Canada website, 3,066 students from 19 schools in Simcoe North voted.
Conservative Adam Chambers was selected as the victor, garnering 820 votes. He also won the “real vote” Monday night.
However, the rest of the student results did not mirror the actual results. In the student vote, the NDP’s Janet-Lynne Durnford finished a close second with 738 votes, while Green Party candidate Krystal Brooks was third with 569 votes. Liberal Cynthia Wesley-Esquimaux finished fourth in the student vote, earning 512 votes, the PPC candidate Stephen Makk was fifth with 297 votes and Christian Heritage Party candidate Russ Emo finished sixth with 130 votes.
Across the nation, 740,515 student votes were tallied from 5,478 schools, with results reported from all 338 federal electoral districts.
According to the student vote:
- The Liberal Party won 117 seats and 24% of the popular vote, forming a minority government. Justin Trudeau won his seat in the riding of Papineau, QC.
- The NDP won 107 seats and took 29% of the popular vote, forming the official opposition. Jagmeet Singh won his seat in the riding of Burnaby South, BC.
- The Conservative Party won 91 seats and 25% of the popular vote. Erin O’Toole won his seat in the riding of Durham, ON.
- The Bloc Québecois won 20 seats and took 2% of the popular vote. Yves-François Blanchet lost his seat in the riding of Beloeil—Chambly, QC.
- The Green Party won 3 seats and 10% of the popular vote. Annamie Paul lost her seat in the riding of Toronto Centre, ON.
