It started as a school project. Now, it’s encouraging young Canadians to get out and vote.
Sage Vote is a new, free mobile app that aims to educate users about Canada’s political system, federal election issues and civic responsibility through play.
It’s a game that takes players on a journey from their home to the polls during which they learn about such things as the role of the governor general, the first-past-the-post system, how to spot disinformation and federal parties’ election platforms.
Hannah Downes, a born and raised Yellowknifer, is one of two students at Vancouver Island University behind the idea.
“It started out as a project in a political studies class. We were asked to develop a game to encourage youth voters,” she said.
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“So my partner and I on the project developed a board game all about making voting fun, learning about the electoral system, encouraging youth to get to the polls.”
Downes said their professors then asked if they would be interested in turning the game into an app with the help of a developer.
After working on the app for the past year or so, she said it recently became available on Apple’s app store and will soon also be available on the Android Google Play store.
Downes said she hopes the game will be an engaging way for people to learn about Canada’s electoral system. She noted it incorporates links to information sources such as Elections Canada’s website and Vote Compass, a tool that allows people to explore how their views compare to those of the federal parties.
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So far, she said, feedback has been positive.
“Folks have enjoyed getting to learn about the electoral system or they have found information that they didn’t know about,” she said.
“People have said that they’re quite grateful to have been able to learn about it in a more entertaining way than just having to read an article.”
Downes said encouraging youth to vote is important as they haven’t turned up to the polls in large numbers during previous elections.
“We have found that youth voters are historically a group that is overlooked in elections. A lot of times, campaign promises are not targeting youth voters,” she said.
“Youth make up a large portion of people who are of voting age and could make a large impact on the political system.”
According to Elections Canada, there is a significant turnout gap between younger and older voters.
In the 2021 federal election, less than 47 percent of eligible voters aged 18 to 24 cast their ballot and less than 53 percent of those aged 25 to 34, compared to more than 62 percent of all voters.
Other resources to learn about the 2025 federal election include Cabin Radio’s election hub and the Northern Mosaic Network’s election resource hub.
