One of the most striking trends driving Donald Trump’s return to office was the rightward shift of the youth vote. Although Kamala Harris still earned the support of the majority of voters under 30, her margin of victory with this demographic was just six percentage points, according to exit polls, far lower than any Democratic nominee in recent years. A majority of young men backed Trump, but the GOP nominee also improved his performance with young women by seven points.
A similar shift is underway north of the 49th parallel.
In Canada, Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party is slated to be another casualty of the anti-incumbent wave sweeping the world in the post-pandemic years. And the right-wing-youth trend may prove even starker. Trudeau’s minority government has held onto power since the last election, in September 2021, thanks to a deal with the New Democratic Party, led by Jagmeet Singh. However, Singh pulled out of the deal in September, and challenges to Trudeau have been mounting. Even if an election isn’t triggered early by a loss of confidence in the House of Commons, Trudeau has less than a year left in his mandate.