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Nearly eight years since Doug Ford’s Progressive Conservatives took power, new polling suggests that nearly half of Ontarians want a change in government, but they aren’t really interested in voting for any of the Ford alternatives.
Despite 48 per cent desiring a switch, the same percentage of Ontarians polled still intend to vote for the PCs, according to a new Abacus Data poll.
Youth in Canada are a group that has consistently turned out at a lower rate than the overall population, according to estimates by Elections Canada. OTR spoke with youth organizers to understand how they plan to dispel youth voter apathy and potentially shift results in future elections.
“I see them [youth] almost like that dark horse, that if a candidate really presents a strong vision, they will sway an election,” said Damian Mikhail, co-chair of the Ontario New Democratic Youth.
Mikhail and youth leaders across Ontario’s opposition parties agreed that they’ve seen a disconnect between youth and the platforms and issues focused on in provincial politics.
The PC government cruised to a third consecutive majority with 43 per cent of the vote last February, and Abacus found that they have maintained a lead with 48 per cent in vote intentions per the 1,006 people it polled from Jan. 9 to 13. The figure, which has a 3.1 per cent margin of error, is unchanged from a poll last November.
While Ontario doesn’t break down turnout by age, overall voter turnout has dropped from a recent high of 57 per cent in 2018 to around 45 per cent of eligible voters in 2025, one percentage point above a historic low seen in 2022, according to Elections Ontario.
It’s not surprising for youth turnout to be lower in municipal, provincial and federal elections, said Nelson Wiseman, a professor emeritus of political science at the University of Toronto.
“Youth are less engaged and have less of a stake in the system,” Wiseman said.
“The older a person is, the more likely they are to have a family, the more likely they are to own a home … they want to save all of those things.”
Knocking on doors in past campaigns, co-chair of the Young Greens of Ontario Jaycob Jacques observed a distaste in politics in youth, with some not seeing an ability to create change.
“If we’re not speaking to issues that affect youth, why would they feel that they should go out and participate?” Jacques said.
“In the past, we were kind of doing the same thing the party was doing,” he added, a strategy he said didn’t effectively reach younger people and something the youth wing is changing.
The rift between politics and youth is something that Sarah Morra, a youth co-chair at the non-partisan Vote 16 Canada group, has also seen.
“There’s far more barriers to someone participating politically and civically at 18 years old when they are eligible to vote, and I do think that there is a disconnect between how politicians tangibly interact with young people,” Morra said.
Eighteen is a time when people might be moving and starting new jobs and school careers, posing a potential barrier to engagement, she said.
“If people could vote at a younger age, politicians would have more of an incentive to advocate for issues that would affect them,” said Morra, who is working to extend voting rights to 16- and 17-year-olds.
Political decision-making in general hasn’t included youth, according to Ontario Young Liberals president Palwashah Ali.
“Oftentimes we see it across the board, that young people are constantly left out of conversations and aren’t top of mind,” she said, adding that her party’s upcoming leadership race will be a way for young people to engage more. Bonnie Crombie formally resigned as leader earlier this month.
“All of the candidates are going to be travelling the province and meeting with young people too,” Ali said.
Mikhail acknowledged his party hasn’t adapted its messaging for youth enough in the past, and said parties need to focus on transformative rather than incremental change.
He highlighted the recent elections of U.S. President Donald Trump and New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani as successful examples of politicians promising bold platforms.
Looking to future elections like the provincial one scheduled for 2030, Wiseman pointed out that higher youth engagement is not something that all political parties would benefit from.
“If I’m running for office and I have all kinds of supporters who I know are going to vote for me, do I want to encourage all kinds of potential voters who may or may not vote for me?”
Gabriel is a reporter for OTR in Winter 2026.
Otter.ai was used to transcribe the majority of interviews in this story.
