Research suggests<\/a> that smaller municipalities tend to have a higher turnout rate than big cities, given that citizens are more likely to know the candidates and have a shared understanding of important local issues. Still, not every small town had a high turnout rate on Sunday.<\/p>\n So, what explains the participation rate in Saint-Thuribe?<\/p>\n Guy Lachance, who won the race for mayor, said local residents were engaged from the start, with the prospect of a new mayor for the first time in 12 years.<\/p>\n While canvassing door-to-door, Lachance estimates he met with 90 per cent of eligible voters. <\/p>\n Some of those conversations lasted more than an hour, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cI took the time,\u201d he said in an interview. \u201cPeople had a lot of interest and they appreciated that we met with them and listened.\u201d<\/p>\n One of the biggest complaints he heard from residents was that they wanted the right to pose questions at council meetings \u2014 even if the topic wasn\u2019t on the agenda. He included a commitment to allow them to do so in his platform. <\/p>\n Ultimately, Lachance beat out<\/a> incumbent Jacques Delisle, 134 votes to 77.<\/p>\n Lessons for big cities?<\/p>\n Spending an hour with every prospective voter would be impossible, of course, in larger cities. Montreal had a 37-per-cent turnout rate, while about 31 per cent of eligible voters cast a ballot in neighbouring Laval.<\/p>\n But Samantha Reusch, executive director of Apathy is Boring, an organization devoted to engaging youth in democracy, said there are lessons to be drawn from villages like Saint-Thuribe.<\/p>\n It\u2019s imperative candidates make connections with voters, whether that\u2019s in person or online, she said.<\/p>\n \u201cMunicipal elections pose a unique challenge in that we’re relying on engagement with local media and local affairs that isn’t quite as robust as it was even 10-15 years ago,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Low turnout in municipal elections is a problem across much of Canada, she said, while provincial and federal elections tend to get far better participation. <\/p>\n In the federal election earlier this year, more than 68 per cent of eligible voters cast ballots.<\/p>\n Municipal elections are often less visible and perceived as less consequential, research has shown<\/a>, with less media coverage and public information.<\/p>\n Reusch said she\u2019s concerned the problem is getting worse, as more people get their information on social media, where algorithms determine what they see. <\/p>\n \u201cWith the lack of news in general on such large platforms as Meta \u2014 so Facebook, Instagram \u2014 you’re not even getting actual news,\u201d she told CBC Montreal’s Daybreak.<\/p>\n \u201cYou’re getting more like fed creator-made content.\u201d<\/p>\n
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