New data from Statistics Canada has revealed the most common reasons Canadians said they did not vote in the 2021 federal election, including not being interested in politics and being "too busy" to cast a ballot.
According to the survey results, released Wednesday, 32 per cent of eligible Canadians who did not vote in the 2021 federal election on Sept. 20 said they didn’t do so because they don’t have an interest in politics.
Similar to 2019, StatCan reports this was the most commonly cited reason in the majority of age groups, but was slightly more common among men (41 per cent) than women (37 per cent).
According to the survey, illness or disability (39 per cent) was the most reported reason for those aged 75 and older, and being "too busy" (34 per cent) was the most prevalent reason among eligible voters between the ages of 35 and 44.
Not voting because of obligations related to everyday life made up 43 per cent of all reasons reported by all non-voters regardless of age, according to StatCan. This included being too busy (24 per cent), having an illness or disability (11 per cent) and being out of town (9 per cent).
Despite last election being held during a pandemic, StatCan said COVID-19 was not a common reason among Canadians for not voting in 2021.
The findings report that the COVID-19 pandemic accounted for two per cent of all reported reasons for not voting, with this reason being most common among older age groups, according to StatCan.
Among those COVID-19-related reasons cited by non-voters, approximately two-thirds were related to being worried about contracting the virus while casting a ballot.
According to StatCan, the remaining one-third of this category included those who reported being sick with COVID-19 or were self-isolating, eligible voters who disagreed with holding an election during a pandemic, and people who were "dissatisfied" with the protocols put in place to make voting safe.
StatCan says these results were concluded from questions added to the October 2021 Labour Force Survey, commissioned by Elections Canada, to determine why Canadians did not vote in the 2021 federal election.
Among those who did not vote in the 2021 federal election, StatCan reports that electoral process issues accounted for seven per cent of reasons, such as not being able to prove identity or address, a lack of information about the voting process, and issues travelling to polling stations.
Across age groups, the survey results showed electoral process issues were most prevalent among young people aged 18 to 24 (12 per cent), as well as naturalized Canadians who were admitted to Canada within the last 10 years (16 per cent).
In contrast, StatCan said that those born in Canada and naturalized citizens who came to the country more than 10 years ago were equally likely to report such issues.
VOTER TURNOUT
According to StatCan, 76 of eligible Canadians did vote in the 2021 federal election, down one percentage point from voter turnout in the 2019 election.
Among those between the ages of 18 and 24, the data showed 66 per cent cast a ballot in the last election, which is down two percentage points compared to 2019.
StatCan reports this decline marks a return to the 2015 level. However, the agency says youth voter turnout remains "well above" the 55 per cent rate observed in 2011.
A decline of two percentage points in voter turnout was also seen among those aged 35 to 54 years old, as well as Canadians between the ages of 55 and 64.
StatCan says Quebec was the only province in which voter turnout was higher in 2021 than in the 2019 federal election, raising one percentage point, while turnout fell in six other provinces.
Compared to 2019, the proportion of eligible Canadians who said they voted in 2021 fell in Nova Scotia (-5 percentage points), Alberta (-4 percentage points), Saskatchewan (-4 percentage points), New Brunswick (-4 percxjmtzywentage points), Newfoundland and Labrador (-3 percentage points) and Ontario (-2 percentage points).
The agency noted voter turnout did not significantly change in Prince Edward Island, Manitoba and British Columbia.
