Candidate Connect
Posted on Monday, July 24th, 2023
Elections Canada is an independent government institution responsible for organizing federal elections and referendums in Canada. They play a vital role in ensuring fair elections and upholding the integrity of the electoral process. They approached us with a significant issue – the erosion of trust and perception of elections. They believed that the current information landscape, influenced by both traditional and social media platforms, affected citizens’ perception of elections and contributed to lower voter participation rates. In response to this challenge, our team was tasked with supporting Elections Canada in understanding and leveraging communication channels to bridge the gap between the institution and Canadian youth, aiming to enhance civic participation.
After conducting background research and employing system mapping, we narrowed our focus to young Canadians aged 18-34. Our research revealed a trend: while political discussions flourished online among the youth, there was a decline in their actual voter participation. To gain deeper insights, we segmented the target group into young youth (18-24) and older youth (25-34), considering that their perspectives and media consumption patterns might differ based on their life stages.
Our research employed a range of methods to gather comprehensive insights. Firstly, we conducted an extensive literature review, analyzing over 40 reputable resources. This process provided a strong foundation of existing knowledge on the subject. To gather direct input from our target demographic, we administered surveys to over 100 Algonquin College students aged 18 to 34, who are Canadian citizens. Additionally, we conducted 12 in-depth interviews to delve deeper into the topic, allowing us to gather qualitative data and gain a better understanding of the factors influencing youth engagement and voting behaviour.
To further enhance our research, we collaborated with 8 subject matter experts (SMEs) who specialized in areas such as social media marketing, political science, and youth advocacy. Their expertise enriched our research by incorporating diverse perspectives and in-depth knowledge. By combining these methods, we ensured a well-rounded understanding of youth engagement and voting behaviour among our target demographic.
The research yielded valuable insights. Surprisingly, despite their frequent use of social media platforms, the youth displayed low levels of trust in them. They emphasized the value of face-to-face interactions and were more likely to vote if they had previous personal engagement with party candidates.
They also primarily relied on family and friends as sources of election information, using online channels mainly to find information about party candidates.
Equipped with these valuable insights, we centered our solution ideation around revamping the voter information service on the Elections Canada website. Our current prototype is a mockup of a new look and feel of the candidate information page, where the information is more bite-sized and intuitive and imagery used purposefully to mimic those on a social media site.
We are in the process of testing it with the target users to get feedback and improve on it. Our ultimate goal is to provide an intuitive information platform that builds trust and participation by empowering Canadian youth to actively contribute and shape the future through increased civic engagement.