Not all Quebec municipalities had low voter turnout in last Sunday’s elections.
For example: Calixa-Lavallée.
Located in Montérégie, this small parish municipality of some 500 inhabitants saw more than 78 per cent of registered voters turn out at the polls.
“Citizen participation has always been high here. This year, it was particularly remarkable,” said Pénélope Larose, director general of Calixa-Lavallée. “Since our municipality is not large, everyone knows each other. They are interested in what is going on and are actively involved in community life.”
This was also the case in Lac-Édouard, in the Mauricie region. There, the turnout exceeded 80 per cent.
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Data published by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs indicate that the turnout rate was 41.3 per cent across the province, an increase of 2.6 percentage points compared to 2021.
Other data from Elections Canada reveal that more than 20 municipalities had a turnout rate of over 70 per cent.
In most cases, these are very small municipalities with fewer than 1,000 residents. For many, this success is attributable to close ties within the communities, the efforts of the candidates, or the presence of several candidates in places where political leaders are often elected by acclamation.
Calixa-Lavallée is one such municipality. According to Larose, these were the “biggest elections in 20 years.” The mayor’s office was up for grabs, as were six council seats. In 2021, all candidates were elected by acclamation.
“There was a real surge of enthusiasm. Many different opinions and visions were expressed,” added the municipality’s director general.
In Saguenay-Lac-Saint-Jean, voter turnout was 72.38 per cent. Local election chair Isabelle Leduc attributed this success to the candidates themselves.
“They did a lot of door-to-door campaigning. They called people to encourage them to vote,” she said. “They really did a good job by being very present on the ground, compared to previous elections or other places.”
Other factors contributing to this success, according to Leduc, were the municipal administration’s efforts to encourage people to vote, the population’s desire for change, and the implementation of mobile voting, which increased participation among seniors.
As in many other places, Desbiens also benefited from truly competitive races, whereas last time around, most of the elected officials were unopposed.
“It was truly historic,” said Leduc. “We will be celebrating our 100th anniversary next year. And we had historic elections.”
Thierry Giasson, a political science professor at Laval University, says that several factors can influence voter turnout, including the perception of real competition.
Provincial data indicates that turnout rates are usually higher in municipalities with fewer than 2,000 residents because of social pressure, he believes.
“In a small municipality, you know your neighbors. Everyone knows everyone else. The election officials are our neighbors, our brothers-in-law, our sisters-in-law, our fathers, our mothers. In short, everyone knows who is going to vote and who is not going to vote.”
However, voter turnout in some small municipalities is low, probably because of the large number of second homeowners who live there.
Of the five largest cities in the province, only Quebec City managed to exceed a turnout rate of 50 per cent.
On the other hand, voters in several small municipalities did not have the opportunity to vote. More than 4,500 candidates, including 564 mayors, were elected by acclamation.
–This report by La Presse Canadienne was translated by CityNews
