What the Charlottetown-Parkdale candidates are doing to appeal to younger voters

As the candidates in Charlottetown-Parkdale try to convince voters they should be P.E.I.'s next MLA, there are some things they can do to appeal to the younger demographic.

22% of voters in District 11 are under the age of 34

Jesara Sinclair · CBC News · Posted: Nov 14, 2017 5:00 PM EST | Last Updated: November 14, 2017

The candidates for District 11, left to right, Bob Doiron, Melissa Hilton, Mike Redmond and Hannah Bell. (Liberal Party of P.E.I./P.E.I. PC Party/NDP P.E.I./Green Party of P.E.I.)

Election signs are in the ground and flyers are being left in mailboxes throughout District 11: Charlottetown-Parkdale — with all four candidates knocking on doors to talk to voters.

As the candidates try to convince voters they should be P.E.I.'s next MLA, there are some things they can do to appeal to the younger demographic.

"Younger demographics are looking for their politicians to engage with them at all, and in different ways," said Jesse Hitchcock, co-founder of Young Voters of P.E.I.

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"Young people are looking for both different mechanisms for engagement — so whether that's via attending events or whether that's social media and online — but also just a different calibre of engagement, I think young people are looking for more sincere interactions, more genuine engagement, something more casual than maybe they've seen in the past."

And capturing the attention of younger voters is worthwhile — according to Elections P.E.I., District 11 had 3,403 registered voters by Nov. 7. Of those, about one third (1,139) are under the age of 44. Twenty-two per cent (767) are under 34.

Where does social media fit in?

Social media is an important part of reaching — and engaging with — younger voters, Hitchcock said.

All four political parties in the running are using their social platforms to get their campaign messaging out.

Individually, all four candidates are using their own personal Facebook pages to make public posts about the campaign.

Hannah Bell says social media is a good way to build relationships — including with District 11 voters. (Laura Meader/CBC)

Green Party candidate Hannah Bell, 48, has been active on social media since before the campaign — and continues to post regularly to Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

"What's really important about social media is it's another way that you build relationships," she said.

Finding a balance

"It shouldn't be a fire hose where you're always shouting at people — effective social media is always about having conversations with people and that's what I've done already."

Liberal Party candidate Bob Doiron, 51, is also posting to Facebook, and while he had a small Twitter presence prior to the campaign (seven tweets), he has increased his posting to every few days.

While Bob Doiron has ramped up his social media presence, he says meeting people door to door is still his priority. (Laura Meader/CBC)

"Tweeting the odd time where I'm at and what are my thoughts — I try to do that as much as I can," he said of his strategy. "But basically my day is going from door to door."

Meet the candidates for Charlottetown-Parkdale

Concerns about posts being misunderstood

PC Party candidate Melissa Hilton, 53, is on Facebook, but not Twitter.

"The most important reach is face to face, because of course with social media perception can be taken the wrong way and misunderstood, so I prefer face to face and getting to meet as many [people] as possible," she said.

Melissa Hilton says her priority is reaching people in person rather than online. (Laura Meader/CBC)

NDP candidate (and party leader) Mike Redmond, 48, is active on Facebook, but hasn't posted to his Twitter account since 2015.

"Personally, I'm not a big Twitter person. Tweets, messages, social media can be misunderstood and I don't think it will ever replace the importance of human contact," he said.

Door to door still important

It isn't just about online messaging for younger voters, said Hitchcock — door-to-door visits are just as important to younger people as they are to other demographics.

"I think that's a common misnomer, that young people don't care," she said.

Going door-to-door and leaving flyers in mailboxes has been part of all four of the candidates' campaigns. (Jesara Sinclair/CBC)

"So I think not skipping apartment buildings, taking the time to go into them — a lot of young people live there. Then when you are there, don't just say your talking points, actually engage with young people in a meaningful way on issues that matter to them."

All four candidates said they are going to all the doors in the district, including apartments, and are knocking on doors at different hours of the day to ensure they catch everyone — no matter what their work hours.

What are the issues?

All four candidates said they've seen different parts of the policies they're trying to bring forward hit the mark for younger voters.

Redmond said the cost of post-secondary education, employment opportunities, affordable child care, and transparency and openness in government are the issues he's seen resonate with young people.

Mike Redmond says he's primarily getting his message out by meeting with people face to face. (Laura Meader/CBC)

Hilton listed post-secondary education, child care, schools, housing, taxes, jobs, mental health as topics she sees as important to younger voters.

Doiron said supports for injured workers, mental health and addictions, the safety of the propane storage facility on Allen Street and seniors housing as some of the issues in his campaign.

Bell said skill development, employment opportunities, affordable housing and mental-health supports are all parts of her platform that have resonated with younger voters.

The byelection will be held Nov. 27.