2015 National Youth Survey

Introduction

Elections Canada commissioned the first National Youth Survey (NYS) following the May 2011 federal general election to better understand the reasons why youth may or may not participate in the electoral process. The 2015 NYS was commissioned to update the findings following the October 2015 federal general election. The survey included a national random sample of 1,000 young adults aged 18 to 34 (“youth”) and 503 adults aged 35 and over (“older adults”), plus an additional non-random sample of 1,506 youth, with an oversample of five groups of particular interest: Aboriginal youth, ethnocultural youth, youth residing in rural areas, youth with disabilities and unemployed youth. The NYS provides a unique portrait of youth voting behaviour in Canada, including the access and motivational barriers that deter youth from voting and the different information needs of young voters compared to older adults.

Main Findings