Chief Electoral Officer participates in Civic Education Activity at St John's High School in Winnipeg

Media Advisory

Winnipeg, March 12, 2019– Elections Canada is inviting media to an event that showcases its civic education resources. This event, the first one in Western Canada, is in collaboration with St John's High School.

Chief Electoral Officer of Canada (CEO) Stéphane Perrault will join a Grade 9 class at St John's High School to explore a resource called Civic Action: Then and Now. This activity helps students understand how they can be active citizens by looking at historical case studies that resulted in real change. The case study to be explored relates to Aboriginal and Treaty rights in Canada's Constitution, and is an example of how Elections Canada incorporates Indigenous content into its education resources.

Quotes

"Engaging students on civic participation and voting in elections is an important issue for us. This is my third event in Canada, after Halifax and Toronto, promoting our civic education resources in classrooms, and our reception so far has been very positive. We want to make sure that teachers are aware of these tools, that they are fun to use and they can assist them in their class even if they are not teaching civics. In fact, these resources can also be used in history, math, geography, social studies, politics or citizenship class. They are done in a way that students can engage and think about elections and civic action for themselves."

– Stéphane Perrault, Chief Electoral Officer of Canada

"As a social studies teacher in an economically depressed area with typical low voter engagement and interest, I feel engaging students to be active and aware citizens is one of the most important lessons I can teach. It's not just in daily lessons, but to have embedded in everything we do. Having workshops on election engagement is another way to engage kids, but from a different voice and perspective other than mine, which is important for them too. The fact that the workshop features Indigenous content makes it particularly relevant here in Winnipeg."

– Russell Patterson, Teacher at St John's High School in Winnipeg

Details about the event

When	March 14, 2019 from 9:45 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. Media representatives are allowed to shoot during the entire activity.
Where	St John's High School 401 Church Ave Winnipeg, MB R2W 1C4
Media availability	To schedule an interview, please contact Elections Canada Media Relations ahead of time at the coordinates below.

Elections Canada is an independent, non-partisan agency that reports directly to Parliament.

Information:
Elections Canada Media Relations
1-877-877-9515
elections.ca

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