local vote: municipal elections never generate the same level of interest that federal or provincial votes do, The

Wretched Ethyl, a punk musician, joined 138 other candidates vying for 27 seats on Vancouver's city council, parks and school boards. One leading candidate for the mayor's job called last November's election "horribly complex." Perhaps that's why fewer than 35% of eligible voters bothered to turn out and vote.

Most municipalities are divided into wards -- the smaller equivalents of ridings in federal and provincial elections. Voters pick someone to represent their ward on local council, while the mayor is chosen by all the wards. However, Vancouver abolished its ward system in 1935 so that voters are faced with the bewildering task of picking a mayor and all ten members of city council. In addition, each voter must pick nine members of the school board and seven of the parks board. It's asking a lot of anybody to become knowledgeable enough to chose wisely people for 27 different jobs during a short municipal election campaign. The ward system has been abolished in Fredericton and Saint John, New Brunswick.

Elsewhere in Canada, the ward system is used, with exceptions. In Ontario, some municipalities have adopted boards of control. Under this system, some councillors are elected by the ward system and others, usually called controllers, are picked "at large," that is by all voters. The board of control acts to some extent like a cabinet might at the federal and provincial levels; controllers having more power than councillors.

Mostly, political parties are kept out of politics at the municipal level in Canada. In the bigger cities, politics has crept in. In Vancouver's recent election a group of candidates from the left formed under the banner of The Coalition of Progressive Electors. Facing them was the conservative Non - Partisan Association. However, when the newly elected council sits, its members will not vote along party lines. And, party labels do not appear on municipal ballots.

A federal or provincial election may be held at any time, but municipal officials are elected for a fixed term. In most provinces, the fixed term is three years, but in Quebec and Newfoundland four - year terms are used.

Another feature of municipal elections is the frequent use of plebiscites. These are used to decide local issues. Again, Vancouver's recent municipal election is a good example. In addition to the bewildering array of 139 candidates to chose from, Vancouverites were also asked to vote on three questions: municipal funding for arts groups, the future of the Stanley Park Zoo, and more spending on public works.

This use of direct votes is increasing; perhaps it will encourage more people to turn out for municipal elections.

SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES:

1. Brainstorm with your class ways in which to encourage more people to vote in municipal elections.

2. Which do you think serves the needs of voters better, the system of electing voters better, the system of electing voters by wards or at large? Discuss.

Copyright Canada and The World Jan 1994
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