Boosting Montreal's dismal election turnout won't be easy, but there are remedies available

Valérie Plante is back for a second term after securing more than half of all votes cast.

But only 38 per cent of all eligible voters in the city took part — four percentage points less than the paltry number recorded four years ago.

Municipal elections traditionally garner a lower turnout than provincial and federal elections (62 per cent of eligible voters participated in the federal election this fall).

In the last 30 years, voter turnout in Montreal has climbed above 50 per cent only once and reached a low point in 2005, at just under 35 per cent.

Though there are long-standing causes for low participation, one prominent advocate for participatory democracy said early registration deadlines and having to register in person are two barriers that may prevent people from voting.

"It's frustrating to see so many citizens and young people and civil society folks who do the work that we do, putting so much energy into this and then consistently seeing the electoral process itself sort of working against us," said Samantha Reusch, executive director of the voter mobilization group Apathy is Boring.

This year, Montrealers had to be registered by Oct. 18, almost three weeks before election day. In contrast, in federal elections, voters can register when they show up at the polling station.

Élections Montréal spokesperson André Chapleau said in an interview he was discouraged by the turnout in Montreal.

He said the difficulty some people had in registering to vote — and the deadline to do so — would need to be changed by the provincial government.

But he also pointed out that polls were open for a combined 42 hours over four days, including two days of advanced voting and the two-day election, held on Saturday and Sunday.

WATCH | Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante on the factors that may lower voter participation:

When pressed, Chapleau said the reasons why people "just didn't come to the polling stations are hard to explain."

A spokesperson for Andrée Lavallee, Quebec's minister for municipal affairs, said the provincial government was open to finding ways to improve voter turnout.

In a statement, Bénédicte Trottier Lavoie said the province is considering making voting by mail and electronically available to all for the next round of municipal elections, in 2025.