Student Vote & Mock Election

The opportunity to step out of the classroom and mimic the civic experience of Ontario voters provided the students with first hand and real time knowledge of how an election works in Ontario and insight into part of what civic engagement can look like. We spent time ahead of the vote learning about the various parties in Ontario, how to find information on party platforms, and attempted to inform our student body on important provincial election issues with little time given the snap election time frame. 

Students became more familiar with the levels of government and their respective responsibilities and the corresponding impact on our daily lives. They connected with local MPP offices, and tried to give a fair representation to our school on what options we have to vote for. Students learned how election day works and handled voter ID cards, voting boxes, and counting ballots as part of facilitating our Student Vote polling station. The Student Vote collects and publishes all participating schools results at the same time as official election results. After the vote, we were able to compare our results both with Fort Erie results, and with the Ontario results and the student votes within our electoral district and within Ontario. 

I hope we can continue to join Student Vote again as it provided a great launching point for discussion and personal reflection on political processes and issues as well as gave us a chance to work collaboratively and experientially to complement the learning that was happening in the classroom. Students were engaged and took away a deeper understanding of how and why they can take action through elections as one step of responsible citizenship in our world.

Student Vote Reflection - Simar Goraya, Grade 10
Helping run the Student Vote for NCC as part of our civics class was a great experience. I enjoyed getting a hands-on look at how elections work from organizing the voting process to counting the ballots. It was interesting to see my classmates take it seriously and consider their choices even though it wasn't a government-run election.

I learned a lot along the way about how Ontario elections are run, including how the registration works and why it’s important to participate. It showed me how every vote matters and gave me a better appreciation for the democratic process. Overall, it was a valuable experience that made me more aware of the importance of voting.