Happy Holidays! And, a huge thank you for supporting the Forum for Millennial Leadership in its first half-year!
After launching in the summer, we decided to get straight to work, with our inaugural Conference in September. The FML Conference was a remarkable day filled with young, engaged, and inspiring Millennials who are making a difference in business, government, and the community.
A month later, in October, municipal elections were held throughout British Columbia. The results of which saw significant gains in the number of elected Mayors and Councillors under-40. Almost 100 Millennial candidates ran for municipal office in Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley alone. Metro Vancouver more than doubled their number of elected under-40s from 12 to 27. Half of Vancouver City Council is now under-40. As is now Victoria City Council. And, even a noted retirement hub, Qualicum Beach, elected a 20-year-old. To name just a few examples of where Millennials have stepped up and are now serving.
Building on 2018, 2019 is shaping up to be an exciting year for Millennial leadership. In BC, a high-profile by-election in Nanaimo will kick things off early in the new year. It is worth watching, as an under-40 year old is running, there are 15,000 eligible voters under-40, and there are already 3 Millennials on Nanaimo City Council. The Alberta Provincial Election will follow in the spring, and, given the 2015 election in Alberta saw some major surprises and currently ~30% of Alberta MLAs are Millennials, it will be interesting to see what happens!
The big event in 2019, however, will be the Federal Election in October. When Justin Trudeau was elected in 2015, he was perceived as young – and he looks to be up against two even younger rivals, who are both Xennials, which are on the cusp between Generation X and Millennials. While the leaders of the Liberals, Conservatives, and NDP may be youthful. And, nationally, Millennials makeup ~35% of the voting population. Sadly, we only account for ~17% of Parliament. Stay tuned for fresh new research from FML on the generational breakdown of our national and provincial legislatures!
In 2018, we started the conversation around the issues that we, as Millennials, face in our cities, provinces and countries. We are the largest generation in Canada. And, over the next year, the generation will continue to step up, take leadership, and expand our place at the table. 2019 is the year we fully #redefineFML.
Thank you for your support in 2018. Wishing you and yours a very happy holidays!