Voting in Newfoundland and Labrador: Turned off by Canadian Elections? Tune in to Canadian Idol!

Newfoundland and Labrador tends to have among the lowest elector turnout rates in Canadian federal elections. Conversely, according to news media reports, residents have dutifully voted for one of their own on CTV’s Canadian Idol, the national singing contest. This presents a research opportunity because the most passionate Idol voters are potentially among the least likely to vote in political elections. This paper features interviews conducted at an Idol audition held in St. John’s in 2007. The findings indicate that studying the citizens who ‘vote’ in such national contests can help us better understand citizen engagement and latent expressions of political identity.