Arthur MacatangayEvery March, the University of Alberta Students’ Union (UASU) runs an election for the executive positions. This includes the president, vice-presidents academic, external, student-life, and operations and finance, and the Board of Governors (BoG) representative. You didn’t know this? I didn’t either, until my third year. In fairness, my early university career was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic. But post-pandemic, students still often wonder what the point of the UASU is.
It’s not that the UASU doesn’t do good work — there are many services vital to campus life that the UASU plays a big role in. From the U-Pass and the Tutor Registry, to student insurance plans and on-campus businesses, the UASU does a lot. Students regularly utilize these services — approximately 73 per cent take public transit, which UPass helps subsidize.
While many students use the services provided by the UASU, few of them vote in the general election. Clearly, the UASU greatly affects student life. So why don’t we care about elections that so deeply impact the day-to-day happenings on campus? It seems to me that the smaller the governance body, the less people care. While it might seem like smaller governance bodies have a smaller impact, that’s not true. If anything, they impact our daily lives the most.
It’s not just student unions that have the problem of low voter turnout. It seems the smaller the election, the lower the turnout. While Canada saw a 62.6 per cent voter turnout in the 2021 federal election, Edmonton saw only a 37.6 per cent voter turnout in the 2021 municipal election. Edmonton City Council tends to have a wider impact on everyone’s daily life than the federal government does. Sure, the federal government makes big decisions such as federal housing plans, GST holidays, and decisions on how to combat United States (U.S.) President Donald Trump’s tariff threats. But the municipal government controls property taxes, bus fares, emergency services such as the fire department and police service, and parks and roads.
However, we tend to take the services controlled by the municipal government for granted and not follow along with smaller levels of government. So while students enjoy the perks of UASU services, few bother voting.
Smaller governance bodies like the UASU and City Council have control over services many of us utilize day-to-day. But even if you don’t care about the services smaller governance bodies are able to provide, they could be your gateway to higher levels of government. These smaller governments advocate to provincial and federal governments, and serve as a way to stay connected with big decisions.
It’s easy to put your frustrations and anger towards the higher levels of government, like the Government of Canada or the U of A’s BoG, and feel helpless when these bodies make big decisions. But it’s important to remember that there are elected representatives for small governments working closely with the community that have the power to make change. Whether that’s your city councillor or one of the UASU executives, the opportunity to engage is there. You just need to take it.
So yes, the UASU has seen declining rates of voter turnout over the past few years. But the low voter turnout doesn’t change how important these elections are. It might feel like there’s no point in voting in smaller elections, but I promise you, there is. Change is possible, and it starts by getting involved with bodies of government that directly impact your day-to-day. It starts by voting in the UASU elections.
