Is our connected world behind youth movement in Canadian politics?

When 34-year-old Don Iveson was elected mayor of Edmonton earlier this month, many people noted his age with interest. A young man handed the keys to Canada’s fifth-largest city is bound to turn some heads, of course.

However, Iveson told the National Post that Edmontonians simply saw past his age and voted for thoughtful ideas and plan for the future. Still, some pundits took his success to signal a "generational shift" in voters. And in this, Iveson certainly wouldn't stand alone.

Earlier this week, David Joanassie was elected to the Nunavut legislature. At 30 years old, he is the territory's youngest representative. By Canadian standards, however, 30 doesn't stand out the way it once did.

There was the Orange Crush movement of 2011 that saw an influx of young NDP representatives to the House of Commons, including Pierre Luc Dessault who, at 19, became the youngest MP in Canada's history.

Thomas Sierzycki was 21 when he was elected mayor of La Ronge, Sask, in 2009 and Windsor mayor Eddie Francis was elected at 29. CBC News recently compiled a fairly concise list of young politicians. But that list is by no means complete.

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There are young representatives in municipalities across the country, candidates in every province, leaders of volunteer committees. How, at a time when many complain that young Canadians are less politically active, are there so many young leaders?

Political consultant Gerry Nichols has a theory for that. He believes the nature of today's online world allows the public, specifically the young and connected, to specialize in any avenue they choose. Be it politics or golf or macramé.

"People have so many avenues to learn things now: Internet, blogs, specialty channels. People can really specialize in issues," Nichols told Yahoo Canada News.

"This tends to work against politics. They don't like it so they stay away from it completely. Which is why a lot of voters are not as informed as they used to be. However, those people who are interested in politics, they have a deep knowledge of it. They can really learn a lot about it, they can really study about politics. I think this is one reason why some young people are getting more into politics than they used to."

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Nichols' theory would explain the youth movement on two fronts. First, there would be more informed young voters – who would be more open to supporting young candidates than older voters. But more to the point, there are more young people interested enough to run for office. From there, it would be a numbers game. More young candidates would lead to more young elected candidates.

"They can get into it, it's not that hard. As long as they have a good message they can get out there. They might be idealistic about it, but for a lot of these guys it worked," Nichols added.

Of course, there is no guarantee on how long these young politicians will maintain their innocence and stave of disillusionment.

But for now, at least, we all benefit from new voices at the table.

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