Candidates, expert surprised by voter turnout of only 44%
Compared to the rest of the province, Ottawa had a higher turnout
Ottawa had one of the higher voter turnouts for municipal elections across the province on Monday night, but the city still only saw 44 per cent of eligible voters cast a ballot.
That's up from the 42.5 per cent turnout in Ottawa's 2018 municipal election, but means only 316,260 of the city's 722,227 eligible voters went to the polls this year, according to Elections Ottawa's preliminary numbers.
If compared to other cities, however, that's a lot. Toronto, Oakville, Newmarket and London had under 30 per cent voter turnout, while Windsor saw 31.5 per cent.
Early numbers from the Association of Municipalities of Ontario show 36 per cent turnout across 301 of 444 municipalities that held local elections.
Some experts were expecting a higher turnout after seeing record-breaking turnout for advanced polls. Another reason expected to draw voters was the first competitive mayor's race in 12 years as incumbent Jim Watson was not seeking re-election.
Rideau-Vanier ward had the lowest turnout with just 37 per cent.
"It's not very many votes at all," said ward candidate Laura Shantz, who lost to Stéphanie Plante by 323 votes Monday night. "I think that in itself contributed to the results we saw."
Zachary Spicer, an associate professor with York University's School of Public Policy said while he is somewhat surprised, municipal elections typically see the lowest civic engagement.
He says people feel a disconnect between the problems they face and what city council can do about them.
"A lot of the major issues that are front and centre for a lot of people right now are inflation, cost of living, economy, jobs concern, still wondering about COVID, the war in Ukraine," Spicer said.
"There's a lot of stuff happening out there which I think [is] affecting people. Obviously none of those issues can really be solved at the municipal level."
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Mark Sutcliffe, who Ottawans elected Monday as the city's new mayor, was also surprised by the low turnout.
"When I was talking to people over the last week, I felt a strong sense of engagement in the election. You're always going to encounter people who aren't paying attention, but for the most part I ran into people and knocked on doors and heard a response that they're going to vote."
Sutcliffe, speaking to CBC Radio's Ottawa Morning, said he understands it's part of a larger trend of low turnout, but feels humbled by the fact that more than 161,000 people did vote for him.
Residents weigh in
Then there's simply the matter of convenience.
"I go to school and I have midterms," said Ottawa resident Francis Kara on why he didn't vote. "I don't have the time."
Mariah Fridgen said she wanted to vote, but felt she didn't know enough about the candidates.
"I think a lot of young people are the same way they just get stuck in their everyday lives and don't think about it and then it comes time and then it's like 'I haven't looked into any of these people,'" she said.
A friend was busy caring for their spouse and wasn'table to vote. If Ottawa had on-line voting as an option, voting for many would be much more accessible.
—@janeh61Others suggest they would vote if there was a possibility of casting a ballot online.
Ontario has offered the option for municipal elections for about two decades now, but there's no provincial standard for conducting online polls.
If a municipality opts to use an alternative method, like Belleville, Brockville and Kingston do to some extent, it is left to set up its own voting guidelines using a vendor of its choice.
Spicer said it's an option Ottawa should consider if it wants more people to participate in municipal elections.
