Demographic Divides: Sample Teaching Assignment

This sample assignment draws on the Canadian Voting and Policy Attitudes (CVPA) project to help students investigate long-term demographic differences in Canadians’ federal vote intentions. Working in groups, students draw on assigned academic readings to develop theoretical explanations for differences in voting behaviour, then use CVPA figures to evaluate long-term patterns in Canadians’ vote intentions from 1945 to 2026. The exercise culminates in a written report and an in-class presentation.

Instructors are welcome to adapt the assignment and accompanying figures to suit their courses and learning objectives.

Assignment and Figures

• Sample Teaching Assignment (PDF): Assignment instructions, report and presentation requirements, empirical questions, and suggested readings.
• Sample Figures (PDF): A collection of figures illustrating differences in federal party support by age, community size, education, gender, language, region, and union membership.

This assignment was piloted by Dr. Tyler Romualdi in upper-year undergraduate courses at Western University and Queen’s University. Questions or inquiries may be directed to tyler.romualdi@queensu.ca.