Get our the Vote | Federal Election 2021

Starting on September 10, Canadians will be heading to the polls to decide the future of their country. It is time we take the lead in calling on the parties seeking election to listen to the concerns of graduate students.

This federal election, we have a unique voice as one of the largest voting blocks in Canada. Let’s use that influence and vote in this year’s federal election. Make your voice heard through your vote.

Does voting really make a difference?

Yes, it does! Elections determine who is going to lead Canada for the coming years, but it also has a direct impact on your quality of life (think student financial aid, housing affordability, climate action, infrastructure projects – like the Skytrain-to-UBC, and so much more).

What are the AMS & GSS doing at this election?

Vancouver-Quadra Candidates Debate
Sept 8, 7:30pm-9pm, Lev Burkhman Lounge, 3rd floor of the Nest
In-person + livestream

National Leaders Debate Watch Party
Sept 9, 6pm, Lower Atrium of the Nest

Information Booth
Sept 10-20, in and outside the NEST
Feel free to come up to us and ask any elections-related questions! Free elections swags!

Follow GSS Events and our Facebook page to stay up to date with the upcoming events, and share your voice this election.

How to Vote

Students and young adults make up the largest block of voters in Canada. This federal election, vote for the things that matter to you! It’s easy to vote. let us show you how.

How to register to vote?

You will need three things to vote:

  1. Voter registration card
  2. Your ID
  3. Your proof of address (you’ll need this if you are using an ID with no address or if you plan to vote in a riding that is not affiliated with your permanent address like voting in UBC’s riding (Vancouver-Quadra)).
    • If you live in a student residence managed by Student Housing and Community Services, beginning September 5, you can go to your front desk and ask for a proof of residence form.

When do I vote?

The first step in the voting process is making sure you’re eligible to vote. You must be:

  1. A Canadian citizen
  2. At least 18 years old on election day (September 20), and
  3. Able to prove your identity and address

Election day voting: September 20th (AMS Student NEST) or your riding.

How do I register to vote?

It’s super simple! There’s a couple ways you can register – whether it’s in advance or registering at the polls. Yes, you can even register at the poll right before you vote!

Make your voice heard in this upcoming federal election on Sept. 20!

Useful Links

You can access more information regarding the election through the Elections Canada website at: https://www.elections.ca/

Key Platform Stances Relevant to Graduate Students

Reading through all the parties’ platform to decide on who to vote for can be a daunting task. For your quick reference, the GSS has compiled key platform points of the four major parties running in BC:

Liberal

  •  Childcare
    • $10/day childcare
  • Housing
    • Promote home ownership for middle class
    • Build 1.4M new homes
  • Healthcare
    • 10 days of paid sick leave for federally regulated workers
    • Publicly accessible mental health care
  • Climate change
    • Establish green jobs
    • Ensure oil and gas sector is net-zero by 2050
    • End plastic waste by 2030
  • Reconciliation
    • Confront the legacy of residential schools
    • End water advisories on reserves
    • Establish an Indigenous Urban, Rural, and Northern Housing Strategy
    • Protect Indigenous children and families
  • COVID-19 Protection
    • Mandatory vaccines on travel vessels including planes and trains, as well as within the federal public service
    • Better ventilation in public indoor spaces (schools, businesses and ventilation)
    • Booster vaccine shots
  • Economic Recovery
    • Improved employment insurance
    • Boost innovation and research in Canada
    • Promote diversity in the workforce
    • Equitable distribution of tax

NDP

  • Affordability
    • Universal pharmacare
    • Affordable housing – building 500,000 units of affordable housing
    • Accessible post-secondary education – (forgiving up to $20,000 in student debt)
    • Affordable internet and cellphone service
    • Investment in improved public services
  • Economic Recovery/Building Back Better
    • $10/day childcare
    • Comprehensive employment insurance that meets people where they are at
    • Supporting small businesses
    • Fair trade economies
    • Equitable distribution of taxes (tax the rich higher)
  • Climate Change
    • Eliminate fossil fuel subsidies for big polluters
    • Transition jobs to cater to the low-carbon economy
    • Investing in green infrastructure
  • Improving equality in Canadian society
    • Gender equity
    • LGBTQI2S + Rights
    • Confronting racism
    • Enhancing justice system
    • Voting reform
  • Reconciliation
    • NDP will work with Indigenous peoples to create a National Action Plan for Reconciliation
    • Respect Inuit self-determination and Metis self-determination

Conservative

  • Jobs
    • Target those who have been most adversely affected by the pandemic (women)
    • Incentives to rebuild small businesses
  • Mental Health
    • Increase funding across the country for mental health care
    • Promote employers to cover mental health care
    • Suicide prevention hot line
  • Country
    • Increase vaccine research
    • Partner with vaccine suppliers
    • Enhance scientific understanding of transmission
  • Economy
    • “wind down emergency COVID support programs in a responsible way
    • Stimulus packages = time limited to avoid creating deficits
    • Grow the economy
  • Environment
    • Low Carbon savings account
    • More Zero emissions vehicles
    • Lower emissions (meet Paris targets)

Green

  • Green Future
    • Transition to a green future by ending extraction of fossil fuels and achieving net zero emissions
    • Ensure the transition to workers in the energy and fossil fuel field experience a just transition
      • “Just Transition Act” to be in place before the end of 2021
    • Green regulation with carbon taxes
    • Invest in green infrastructure
    • Invest in Green transportation
    • Environmental justice
    • Conserve and restore natural ecosystems
    • Green innovation
  • Life with Dignity
    • Support for renters – moratorium on evictions
    • Investment in affordable, non-profit, co-operative and supportive housing
    • Housing access for Indigenous Peoples
    • Address youth homelessness
    • Guaranteed livable income
    • Expanding universal programs including post-secondary education, pharmacare, dental care, and childcare
    • Long-term care reform
    • De-criminalization of drugs
    • Expanded and improved mental health support
    • Preparation for future pandemics
    • Seniors’ resources
    • Improve access to health resources
  • Just Society
    • Reconciliation
      • Nation-to-Nation relationships with Indigenous Peoples
    • Dismantling systemic discrimination in public institutions
    • Addressing systemic racism and discrimination in immigration and refugee services
    • Advance LGBTQ12+ Rights
    • Advance Gender Equality
    • Foreign skills recognition
    • Alter current pathways to permanent residency and citizenship
    • Democratic reform
    • Impose equitable taxation

People’s Party of Canada (PPC)

  • Climate Action:

    • Stop sending money to developing countries to help reduce their emissions
    • Withdraw from the Paris Accord
    • Abolish carbon tax and leave it to the provincial governments to choose whether to include one

    Economic Recovery:

    • Eliminate all corporate subsidies and inefficient government interventions that unfairly support some businesses or sectors
    • Reduce corporate income tax from 15% to 10%
    • Slowly eliminate the capital gains tax by reducing the inclusion rate from 50% to 0%

    Reconciliation:

    • Respect – replace the Indian Act; reaffirm the federal government’s power to approve natural resource and infrastructure projects after adequate consultation with Indigenous peoples;
    • Freedom – individual property rights on reserves
    • Fairness – ownership of services they receive
    • Responsibility – review federal spending on Indigenous issues

    COVID Policy:

    • Oppose vaccine mandate, vaccine passports, and other authoritarian measures imposed by the provincial governments

    Canadian Identity:

    • Repeal the Multiculturalism Act and eliminate all funding promoting multiculturalism
    • Substantially reduce the number of refugees and immigrants from 350,000 per year to between 150,000 and 100,000

Disclaimer: For references only. The GSS does not endorse any political party. The documentation published by each party is deemed as their official platform.

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