By Emily Stonehouse

When I was in high school – yes, our very own Haliburton Highlands Secondary School – not so long ago, we held a mock election.

It was a good opportunity to understand the platforms of the major parties, and how elections would work, since many of us were on the cusp of our voting age anyway.

Once the civics teachers went through each party platform and the students had a chance to talk with one another, we cast our votes.

The results were overwhelmingly orange.

Yes, students at our local high school, not so long ago, all believed in the NDP.

I remember thinking that perhaps that would play a part how our riding would look as time went on. That we would shift from blue to orange as the high school students of the early 2000s got out and made their voices heard.

Spoiler alert: nothing changed.

As I watched the live map shift and glitch on election night; the greys of each chunk of Ontario slowly shifting from light blue to indicate a Conservative lead to dark blue once they secured the win, I felt defeated.

This election seemed important. Over the past two years (yes, only two years. Doug Ford was supposed to wait four years but had a temper tantrum and spent $189 million of our money to secure his position again because he didn’t feel like waiting), we’ve watched Ontario fall apart.

Hospitals are struggling. We know that all too well. Schools are overflowing. Teachers, nurses, mental health staff, they’re quitting because they are not compensated for the challenges they are faced with each and every day.

This isn’t the same Ontario it was two years ago.

But to more than half the province, that didn’t matter. The Elections Ontario website noted that of the 11 million eligible voters, approximately five million showed up to cast their votes. That’s about 45.4 per cent of voters.

In our own riding, 48.91 per cent of registered electors showed up. Again, less than half of us. PC MPP Laurie Scott won with 51.95 per cent of those votes.

I don’t know what the other votes would be. But based on how people are hurting and complaining and completely struggling in all corners of our riding, I am guessing the PCs wouldn’t come out on top if everyone took the time to learn, to discuss, to vote.

I’ve heard some say that the votes don’t impact them. That perhaps they are not drudged down day-to-day by the provincial government’s decisions. It’s not relevant to them. It’s not important.

And if that’s the case, then why wouldn’t you do it for others? When you cast your vote, it should never be just for you. It should be for your community, for your family, for your neighbours.

It should be for the hospitals that you visit, the schools your children attend, the forests you hike through, the people who so often get overlooked.

I’m disappointed in the results; in the interest, in the care shown from our community for the betterment of our province as a whole.

My last push is to advocate for our voices. Take politics off the taboo table. Teach civics in schools again. Have raw, open dialogue about what our leaders are doing for us. Ask questions. Research answers. Learn more. Don’t stay silent. Just please, simply try.

And maybe next time it will be different.