If apathy prevails, the CAQ government could use a low turnout to its advantage.
In the first week of November, an important election is taking place. Yes, much of the world will be watching what happens south of the border, but for Quebec’s English-speaking community, another important vote is coming.
On Nov. 3, there will be elections for the province’s nine English school boards. Voters will cast ballots for the chair of their local board and for a commissioner to represent their local district.
One of the CAQ’s stated political objectives from the outset has been to do away with elected school boards, characterizing them as an unnecessary and expensive level of governance with paid elected commissioners. It has been easy for the premier to dismiss the importance of school boards to Quebecers by pointing to the low voter turnout — percentages in the single digits on the francophone side and typically in the teens for English boards.
Maintaining control is critical for Quebec’s linguistic minority, particularly when certain governing parties — in the name of protecting French — treat English institutions as threats. Some would suggest the targeting of all school boards with Bill 40 was a disguised attempt to do away with the English boards.
The U.S. election may be politically sexier, but the community shouldn’t minimize the importance of showing how much it values its institutions, sending a message to the government and the courts at every opportunity.