OTTAWA — Former Liberal cabinet minister Sergio Marchi says he is alarmed by how few young Canadians are interested in political careers, warning that if the trend continues, future generations risk having little say in how the country is governed.
Marchi, who served as Minister for International Trade from 1997 to 1999 and later as Canada’s ambassador to the World Trade Organization and the United Nations, says in his university politics classes he’s “surprised if two or three students” raise their hands when asked if they’d consider entering public life.
“You can’t have the current young generation be exempted from public life,” Marchi said in an interview. “Nothing wrong with old white men, but we can’t have our politicians be just white old men. We need the energy and the idealism of the youngsters.”
Marchi has released a new book, Pursuing a Public Life, which chronicles his political journey and offers practical guidance for young people considering entering federal politics. He says the issue isn’t limited to Canada — young people globally are turning away from politics, often preferring to work for NGOs or in diplomacy rather than run for office.
He attributes this reluctance to the toxic tone of political culture, privacy concerns, and a lack of clear pathways into the system. “They thought that with the opposition, anything goes; with the media, anything goes. And they just found it too invasive,” Marchi said, adding that politicians themselves must lead by example and “ameliorate the tone and substance” of political life.
A 2024 study by Carleton University and the University of Ottawa supports Marchi’s concern, finding that the underrepresentation of young adults in Canadian politics is largely a “supply-side issue” — too few young people put their names forward as candidates. Once nominated, however, their electoral chances are similar to older candidates.
Daniel Stockemer, one of the study’s authors, said incumbency is a major barrier. “Youth representation in Canadian politics hasn’t increased over the past 50 years,” he noted, citing the difficulty of breaking into a system with limited openings.
Despite this, 25-year-old MP Jake Sawatzky, who won a seat for the Liberals in New Westminster—Burnaby—Maillardville this year, hopes the election of four MPs born in the early 2000s will inspire others. “Politics affects our everyday [lives], and without getting involved, then as individuals we’re all just subjected to the decisions other politicians make,” said Sawatzky, who chairs the Liberal youth caucus.
Jaden Braves, 17, CEO of Young Politicians of Canada, pointed to the education system’s failure to build civic literacy as a key factor in youth disengagement. “It has to start in the classroom around how we shape these discussions,” he said. Braves added that politics still feels like a game “for people with deep pockets,” which alienates many motivated young people.
Marchi says the stakes are high: “While AI is here and while robots will do a lot of things, I’m hoping robots won’t run a country. We still need good people to step forward and make decisions on our behalf.”