ONTARIO – At 4 p.m. today, the results of over 280,000 student votes were calculated. The province-wide Student Vote elected Andrea Horwath and the Ontario NDP to form a majority government with 66 seats, 32 per cent of the popular vote.
The PC Party of Ontario formed the opposition with 45 seats and 27 per cent of the vote. The Liberal Party of Ontario won 11 seats and 19 per cent of the vote, while The Green Party of Ontario won two seats and 13 per cent of the vote.
“What makes this even more incredible is the timing. This is the busiest time of year for schools with culminating activities, EQAO testing and exams, and more than 6,000 teachers have made Student Vote a priority,” said Taylor Gunn, President and CEO of CIVIX in a press release.
Students voted for candidates in their districts after learning about the electoral process, researching party platforms and issues, and debating about the future of Ontario.
In total, 2,166 schools, representing all 124 electoral districts in the province participated. There were exactly 280,961 ballots cast by student participants. There were 268, 091 accepted ballots, 7,103 rejected ballots, 2,562 declined ballots and 2,935 unmarked ballots.
Student participation increased by more than 60 per cent in comparison to the 2014 Ontario provincial election. In 2014, 173, 072 votes were cast from 1,388 schools, electing a Liberal majority. This Student Vote project was made possible by Elections Ontario, and it is the fifth province-wide Student Vote project conducted.
