Canada's Gen Z voters leaning right

Giancarlo Zorrilla attended a campaign rally for the first time in his life in March.

- By Jacob Lorinc

It was a rainy night near Vancouver — typical weather for Canada's west coast — but that wasn't stopping the 29-year-old Canadian from seeing Pierre Poilievre speak.

"It's time for a change," Mr Zorrilla said on his way in to see the Conservative leader give a fervent, hour-long speech on skyrocketing housing prices and the failures of former prime minister Justin Trudeau. Sure, Mr Trudeau has stepped away from politics, but even a Trudeau-less Liberal Party is "still the same rock band," Mr Zorrilla mused.

It's a sentiment shared among a significant number of young people. More than nine years after the Liberals swept to power on a platform of environmentalism, legalised marijuana and more immigration, many younger voters are frustrated.

Housing prices have surged since 2015 while key economic measures have sputtered. Millennials and Generation Z have been consumed by a cost-of-living crisis that's made the prospect of home ownership and a timely retirement appear increasingly out of reach.

Mr Poilievre's appeal with younger voters hasn't been enough to put him in a winning position. Opinion surveys show his Conservatives trailing the Liberal Party by several percentage points with nine days to go until the election. Eligible voters aged 18 to 34 - Gen Z and younger millennials - make up about 25% of the electorate in Canada.