Dozens of Winnipeg students are preparing to rally on election day, calling for the right to vote for school trustees who make decisions that directly affect their education.
The rally, organized by 11-year-old Libby and her co-organizer Hellen, is set to take place Tuesday evening at the Notre Dame Community Centre in St. Boniface.
“I think we deserve a say in something that directly affects us.”
Libby and Hellen started a petition last year advocating for youth voting rights in school trustee elections. Since then, they have collected hundreds of signatures from students and staff in support of their cause.
Libby says encouraging young people to engage with politics is an important part of the effort.
“I think it is very important for students and young people to be active and know about politics,” said Libby.
School trustees play a role in shaping public education, including setting priorities for school divisions, overseeing budgets and helping determine the learning environment for students. Elected locally under Manitoba’s Public Schools Act, trustees also serve as a link between communities and school administration.
For Libby, those responsibilities are precisely why students should have a say in who represents them.
“As we are directly affected by the decisions that are made by the school trustees and the board, so I think students should be able to vote,” said Libby. “Because these decisions affect them directly and the most.”
Education funding is also an issue for Winnipeg voters, particularly as school divisions approve budgets that can affect local education property taxes.
For the 2026-27 school year, approved budget increases among Winnipeg school divisions range from 2.36 per cent to nearly 10 per cent, contributing to changes in education property taxes paid by local homeowners.
Libby’s parent, Danny Powell, says voters need to understand who school trustees are and the decisions they make.
“School trustees who are responsible for setting our educational priorities in a lot of ways. We need to know who they are and what they know. It’s critical.”
The students’ rally is scheduled to run from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. on election day at the Notre Dame Community Centre, where organizers hope to draw attention to their call for a greater role for young people in local education decisions.
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