Students Vote Exit Survey: Young people are keen to see the new government address cost of living, concrete policy actions
May 22, 2025
Abacus Data and CIVIX, a registered charity dedicated to strengthening democracy through civics and citizenship education for school-aged youth, have had a long-standing partnership working together on CIVIX’s cornerstone programs to track, understand, and amplify student civic engagement.
For the 2025 federal election we have partnered with CIVIX to conduct an exit survey with students who participated in the Student Vote Canada program.
Student Vote is an experiential learning program offered during general elections. After learning about democracy and the electoral process, researching the parties and platforms, and discussing the issues with their peers and families, students cast ballots for the official candidates running in their school’s electoral district. Nearly 950,000 elementary, intermediate and high school students participated in Student Vote Canada, coinciding with the 2025 federal election.
This exit survey includes results from 13,942 Canadian students in grades 4 to 12 across all provinces and territories.
You can find a more detailed recap of the Student Vote Canada 2025 results here but a quick summary is below.
In 2025 students across Canada elected a Conservative Party minority government with the Liberal Party as the official opposition. This contrasts with the 2021 results (a Liberal government with an NDP official opposition), and differs from the results of the 2025 general election.
What Shaped the Results?
About half of students decided their vote in the days leading up to (or on the day of) the election.
A quarter made their decision the day they voted (24%) and another quarter just a few days before (23%). Only about 1 in 5 (19%) knew who they were voting for when the election was first announced.
In contrast to students, adults were far more likely to have made up their minds before the election began (47%). This reflects a broader age-related trend among adult voters: 52% of older voters (60+) had decided before the campaign, compared to just 33% of younger voters (those 18 to 29).
Students voted on major issues, policy, and national campaigns, more so than adults did.
Most students (54%) said the main reason for choosing a candidate was voting for the party with the best ideas or promises. Only 14% voted strategically—either to prevent a specific candidate from winning or because they believed their favoured party would not win.
Policy issues were the driving force for votes in the general election as well, particularly for the youngest voting cohort. Older Canadians were more inclined to cast their vote based on the party leader (39%), compared to 25% of younger Canadian voters, and just 18% of students.
Strategic voting played a greater role among younger voters in the actual election, with 20% identifying it as their main reason for choosing a candidate. In contrast, only 10% of students cited strategic voting as the primary influence. Notably, many students indicated they may have voted differently in the actual election (40%)—9% said they would not have voted the same way and 31% are unsure.
Students are informed, independent voters.
Nearly half (48%) of students said they voted the same way as at least one parent or caregiver. 19% say they voted differently, 32% are not sure. This suggests that while many students align with their family’s views, a significant portion are forming independent political opinions—even within the same households.
A large majority of students (89%) reported doing some form of research before casting their ballot. The most common sources of information were conversations with others — 46% spoke with friends, 45% with family members, and 44% discussed the election in class.
84% of students also saw a political ad, suggesting that young people, even if not of voting age, are still being reached by political campaigns—intentionally or incidentally. The most common channels were YouTube (49%) and TV (49%).
How do students feel about the results?
Students are moderately happy (like adults) but are unsure whether their concerns will be well represented in Parliament.
37% of students and 32% of adults feel positive about the results of the election. 35% of students and 36% of adults feel neutral and 28% of students and 33% of adults feel negatively.
Students are divided on whether they will be represented by those elected in the general election.
Just over half of students (52%) believe the Prime Minister will represent them and their concerns, while 48% feel another leader would have better reflected their views. Similarly, 52% feel well represented by their elected local candidate, whereas 48% believe a different local candidate would represent them better.
Students in BC, Alberta and Saskatchewan/Manitoba are most concerned about being represented, while those in Ontario and Atlantic Canada feel the candidates who won the General Election will represent them well.
Students (and young people overall) want to see the new government focusing on cost-of-living concerns. The most important step the federal government can take to support young Canadians (according to students) is addressing cost of living, including housing affordability. And given the chance to share a few words with the new Prime Minister, students choose to share the same message.
The Upshot
While voter turnout among younger generations tends to be lower in general elections, the results of Student Vote show the next generation of voters is highly informed, critical and tuned into conversations about solutions rather than the brand or image of a leader. It is likely this younger cohort will grow up like their younger voting peers (the Gen Zs and Millennials) — looking for solutions to cost-of-living alongside social issues. Like their younger voting peers, student voters are keen to see policies and programs that address the cost of living, despite not yet reaching adulthood.
The findings highlight the importance of civic education and engaging young people in democracy early on. Among students who participated in Student Vote Canada 2025, 91% of students said they feel confident about voting in the future, including 45% who feel very confident.
Methodology
The survey was conducted with 13,942 Canadian students in grade 4 to 12 from May 1 to 14, 2025.
The margin of error for a comparable probability-based random sample of the same size is +/- 0.83%, 19 times out of 20.
Abacus Data follows the CRIC Public Opinion Research Standards and Disclosure Requirements that can be found here: https://canadianresearchinsightscouncil.ca/standards/
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