Be the change: When youth stay silent
By Cameron Sauder, October 16 2025—
If you don’t vote in this municipal election, you contribute to the decline of our democracy.
‘Tis the season once again — politicians are making promises and everyone is talking about the future of our city. Soon, we’ll be invited to take time out of our lives to research our municipal candidates, get to a polling station and think critically about our political values.
If that sounds like a headache, then get over it. That’s democracy.
Do you know what else democracy is? It’s having a direct say in who’s going to lead our city (or our province, our country) for the next four years — it’s what safeguards us against authoritarians and politicians who only have their best interests at heart. Our southern neighbours actually chose to elect one such individual, but there was only a 64 per cent voter turnout in the 2024 U.S. presidential election — imagine what might have happened if those other 120 million voters had exercised their right to vote?
You may just be one person in a sea of many, but that doesn’t mean your vote doesn’t matter. And I know you’ve heard this over and over again, probably a million times since your high school civics class, but it really is that important. Many of us take our democracy for granted, but people fought hard for it, and it’s up to us to continue holding the torch.
Fortunately for you, by picking up this supplement, you’ve taken the first step toward researching your local candidates and making an informed decision.
Modern politics can be, frankly, horrifying and frightening, especially now that the Big Orange is back on his throne. I get the urge to just turn your back to the news and try to pretend like everything is alright, but the truth is that it isn’t.
The United States’ government is a shitstorm of idiocy, violence and hatred. Our own government is censoring marginalized voices and impeding critical thinking in our children with its archaic book bans while plunging us into unsettling rates of unemployment.
Things seem like they’re going to get worse before they get better, but if we turn a blind eye to injustice, then they are definitely going to get worse and they may never get better.
Unfortunately, we can’t do much about the circus down south, but we can stay informed about issues and do whatever we can to keep our home strong and free.
You don’t have to trust the system, but if you ignore the system, it will steamroll you. Instead of letting political apathy sink its decrepit claws deep into your soul, do your research, read this supplement and make your voice heard.
We are the incumbent generation, literally training and preparing to enter the world and make our mark on it. Within four years, we’ll be the ones trying to kickstart our careers, buy houses and have families (if that tickles your fancy). Don’t let someone else decide the future of the city when you’re the one finding your place in it, when you’re the one with real stakes — not whether you’ll be able to save $50 a year in taxes, but whether you’ll be able to make a living, whether you’ll be able to have a future at all.
Vote. I shouldn’t have to beg — apathy only hurts yourself — but I will. Vote.
This article is a part of our Opinions section and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Gauntlet editorial board.