Students throughout School District 27 are having their say in the provincial election.
A whopping 13 schools in the Williams Lake area are participating in this year’s Student Vote campaign and will be casting their ballots for the official candidates running in their electoral district.
Mountview Elementary School teacher Rita-June Mader said she did not hesitate to bring the campaign to the school.
“Learning about government is part of the Grade 5 curriculum and I want them to have some hands-on learning about voting,” Mader told the Tribune Thursday.
The ballots sent for the students are almost identical to the ones adults use when voting, she added.
“Hopefully the student experience will translate into getting them to vote later when they are adults.”
Boston Pierce, 11, a student in Kelvin Parent’s Grade 5/6 class at Mountview said it is important for the students to vote so when they reach the age of 18 they will know what to do.
“We did the federal vote last year,” Pierce said. “Doing the vote makes me excited about being 18 one day.”
Boston’s classmate Paighton Bings, 11, said the Student Vote campaign is a good learning experience.
“It gives us an idea of what to expect in the future,” she said.
Both students are looking forward to see how their votes compare to the actual election, they said.
According to a map provided by Student Vote BC, the other schools participating are Alexis Creek, école Marie Sharpe, 150 Mile, Maranatha Christian, Naghtaneqed Elementary/Junior Secondary, Nesika, Horsefly, Lake City Secondary Williams Lake and Columneetza campuses, Williams Lake GROW, Chilcotin Road and Sacred Heart.
“This is the largest Student Vote program held in the province to date,” said Dan Allan, director of content for CIVIX Canada, the civic education charity that organizes the campaign every year.
Each school is supplied with free learning materials and election supplies to help them engage in the campaign and organize a vote.
Students learn about government and democracy, and research the issues, party platforms and candidates through classroom activities, family discussion and campaign events.
A total of 1,221 schools in the province have registered to participate from all 87 electoral districts.
In a survey of participating students done at the beginning of the campaign, participants picked health care as the top election issue, followed by poverty, education, affordable housing and environment.
Results of the students’ votes will remain under embargo until the close of polls on election night on Tuesday, May 9.
This story was updated from Wednesday, May 3 after the Tribune interviewed a teacher and students at Mountview Elementary School.