A "vote mob" will be held at the University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) on Wednesday to encourage youth people to cast ballots in the federal election.
Set for 12:15 p.m. in the Agora Courtyard, students are being encouraged to dress up in proud Canadian colours and "raise their voices in a call for youth to head to the polls" on May 2.
A so-called "flash protest" was held at UNBC in November to protest Conservative climate change policies, but this one will be non-partisan, organizers promise.
"Youth voting rates have historically been quite low in Canada," co-organizer Cameron Bell, a UNBC student, said in a statement. "This is an opportunity to make voting exciting and engaging while raising awareness among youth about the upcoming election."
During an airing of his recent visit to UNBC, which raised the most money in a fundraising campaign to buy mosquito nets for third world communities, CBC television personality Rick Mercer called on young people to vote during the election.
"If you are between the age of 18 and 25 and you want to scare the hell out of the people that run this country, this time around, do the unexpected, take 20 minutes out of your day and do what young people all over the world are dying to do - vote!" Mercer said during the show.
Those who show up will get a change to perform a stunt based on a game of "What time is it, Mr. Wolf," a form of tag.
"We're calling on students everywhere to celebrate the vote and ask themselves what kind of Canada they want to live in," said Northern Undergraduate Student Society president Nadia Nowak.
"This also serves as a heads-up. Politicians need to act like students will be going to the polls because right now, Ottawa isn't ready for us."
A vote mob in Guelph met with controversy when several students who attended the rally, which drew about 200 people, were subsequently barred from a Conservative rally in the Ontario community.
But those who attended one in Hamilton on Thursday were welcomed to a Tory rally afterwards - but organizers were disappointed in the turn out as just 50 showed up, much less than an expected 300.
A vote mob was also held at the University of Victoria last week.
