Newcomers and Manitoba's Provincial Election

Newcomers must understand two things about Canadian elections:

l Federal elections, where Canadians vote for the bigger picture, which will choose the Prime Minister from the party that wins the election.

l Provincial elections, call them mini elections, where voters decide who will govern the different provinces where they live: Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec, etc.

Some newcomers voted in their countries before coming to Canada.  Others never, ever, because their countries are dictatorships or based on the king is the law tradition.

I voted for the first time in Canada because South Africa did not allow my grandparents, parents and myself to vote.

It is in this context that political parties in Manitoba should conduct voter registration drives before the September 10 provincial elections. They should, because newcomers who are qualified to vote have other priorities in mind.

l They are unemployed or underemployed.

l Their parents have been in Manitoba for more than five years and have never voted.

l Their parents are still preoccupied with politics from original countries.

Studies in Canada and the U.S. indicate that senior citizens and working men and women vote more than the youth, which is between 18-25 years. It is not too late to activate this voting base for the 2019 Manitoba election by sending appropriate messages.

l Voting is cool.

l Knowing what each political party stands for is cool.

l Being a volunteer is cool.

l Volunteering might result in part-time or full time jobs.

l Voting with help their parents’ struggle.

Immigrants should not be swayed by Canadians that don’t vote. It doesn’t change anything, they say. It does.
By:  Nonqaba waka Msimang.