Like many international transplants, for the first 10 years of living in Whistler, I couldn’t vote in any of Canada’s elections. Not that it particularly bothered me, because I was all about having a good time: ski, bike, beer, repeat. Politics didn’t concern me, and I was blissfully ignorant of community concerns, provincial policies and federal funding.
It took me about 10 years to gain my Certificate of Canadian Citizenship, which I still proudly display on my home office wall. Fellow seasonals-turned-lifers know all too well the length and bureaucratic hassle of that process; qualifying for one of Canada’s immigration programs, collecting written proof of jobs worked a decade ago, procuring criminal record checks from any country in which you spent more than a few months... I could fill this entire page with document checklists and proverbial hoops one needs to jump through in order to gain Permanent Residency (PR) status in Canada. And I think I can speak for every Permanent Resident when I say the effort is worth it. No more stress about work visas or whether you’ll need to exit the country at the end of the season. The PR milestone signifies the moment when you can genuinely lay your foundations in this country, this province and this community.
But there’s one catch. PR doesn’t allow you to vote. For that constitutional right, you must get a passing score of 16/20 on your citizenship test and swear your allegiance to Canada and its (new) king. You don’t need to go to England or anything, you just need to stand in a room full of people in front of a judge, pledge your allegiance to this country and sing O Canada. This ceremony is a far less emotive affair in today’s Zoom version, but is still an unforgettable day in the lives of newly-naturalized Canadians.
The biggest practical benefit of naturalization is being able to apply for a Canadian passport, so you no longer need to hold up your Canadian friends at the border on that road trip to the States. The biggest civic benefit of calling oneself Canadian? You guessed it.
Voting in federal, provincial and (arguably most importantly) municipal elections.
I’m not going to go into which council candidates support what and all the hot- button issues like housing, sustainability etc. since we’ve had plenty of that commentary already. What I will say is that some recreation-focused residents of Whistler sometimes forget that—for better or worse—political change affects us all. And yes, that applies at the local level.
Let’s take a look at a few of the reasons Whistler residents may not vote, or more likely, just not bother.
I can’t vote because I’m not Canadian yet. I would if they allowed non-Canadians to vote.
Fair enough. I get the frustration of not being able to have your say when you’ve lived in Whistler for years, contributed to its economy and genuinely care about your community. But voting is a constitutional right reserved for those who have citizenship at birth or immigrants who run through the aforementioned process. Start yours now and you may get to vote in 2026.
There are so many candidates I can’t keep track. A lot of them are saying the same thing: “we need more housing, yadda yadda.” How am I supposed to make an informed vote?
Yes, there are a lot of candidates. Some of them you may even know personally or professionally. The best resource is the paper in your hands. Pique’s reporters do a bang-up job of council and mayoral candidate profiles. G.D. Maxwell takes it a step further with his own endorsements. If you want to get a sense of everyone’s platform while say, washing the dishes, replay the Pique all-candidates meeting on your phone. It is three hours long, but you can skip around to the juicy parts.
Have you seen the weather this October? Screw the election, I’m going camping this weekend.
The strange and very welcomed sunny weather this October may well be the biggest contributor to a poor voter turnout on election day. But the future of your community shouldn’t take a backseat to one more great weekend of the seemingly endless summer of 2023. Advanced polling has been and gone, but General Voting Day kicks off at 8 a.m. on Oct. 15 at Myrtle Philip Community School. So have your car packed the night before, wake up early and go vote. Put that on your Instagram stories before all your other weekend highlights.
We have some solid incumbents running for re-election. Cathy Jewett and Jen Ford are the two I trust most to balance progress with the steady hand of experience. It’s great to see a bunch of younger candidates in the running, too, though not all seem to have done their homework. The one candidate I’ve seen present themselves with research and knowledge akin to more experienced councillors is Brendan Ladner, a.k.a. the “Skiable Future” guy. Yeah, the slogan is kinda tacky, but Ladner struck me as having a work ethic that matches his passion.
As Pique editor Braden Dupuis wrote recently, “If you’re not actively involved, you get the policy you deserve. Simple as that.” That goes for all you skiers, bikers, hikers, skaters, softball leaguers, volleyball players and anyone else who prioritizes fun recreation over most other things in life. Real locals give a shit. So have your say on Saturday.
Vince Shuley wants you to vote this Saturday, October 15. For questions, comments or suggestions for The Outsider email vince. [email protected] or Instagram @whis_vince
