Political participation among youth in Newfoundland

Abstract

Since 1970, there has been a global decline in youth voting (Hay 2008). The thesis will explore the political engagement of youth in rural Newfoundland – specifically, the low levels of voter participation. The scholarly literature has offered different reasons for the decline such as the rise of new social movements, apathy and alienation. The thesis tests the literature in the context of Colin Hay’s distinction between “demand-side” and “supply-side” politics (2008) to determine if it is applicable to youth voter decline in rural Newfoundland or if there are other identifiable factors operating in Newfoundland specifically that contribute to a youth voter turnout even lower than the Canadian average.