I voted in Toronto's municipal election earlier this week, but I was in a small minority. Apparently, only 29% of eligible Torontonians voted, the lowest turnout since amalgamation in 1982, and substantially lower than the previous three elections (41%, 55% and 51% respectively).
Other cities in Ontario had even lower turnouts, including Kitchener (20%), Mississauga (21%), London (25%) and Brantford (27%).
Interviews I have heard with people who did not vote range from a feeling of powerlessness to overcome the name recognition of long-time incumbents (term limits, anyone?), to the difficulty of voting (it's really not difficult to vote, there are many options available, although Toronto should probably facilitate online voting, which is popular in many other jurisdictions), to a lack of information about who is standing and what their platforms are (there are websites, fliers, live candidate meetings - what more do people want?), to one guy who claimed he was so happy with the status quo that he saw no reason to vote (er, missing the point).
I know it is kind of hard to get too excited about municipal elections, especially when many of the mayors and councillors are so bland and unexciting. But, people, make an effort! Toronto, like many other cities, is observably falling to pieces, and still you can't be bothered to vote?
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