October 19, 2015

Dear Division 16,

Here we are, election day!  Tonight we will find out the results not only of the Student Vote but also of the Federal election.  It promises to be a very exciting day.

For tonight’s assignment, please review the songs below.

I think two of them could be classified as protest songs that are pro-democracy and anti-Harper, one is based on encouraging a particular vote, the fourth is a spoken word piece about the Harper government. You will notice that these songs are all critical of the Harper government or supportive of the NDP.  I tried very hard to find songs or spoken word performances that reflected different parties but I was not able to.  I think that the fact that people are using songs and poetry to talk about democracy is important so let’s talk about why.

For your assignment tonight, please think about these songs and answer one or more of the questions below:

  1. Why do you think that the only songs that were created about the 2015 Federal election were critical of the Harper government? In other words, why do you think we didn’t see any pro-Harper or pro-Liberal songs or poetry?
  2. What role do you think the arts or popular culture can play in elections and democracy? Do you think these messages are effective?  Are they important?  Why or why not?
  3. Was there any message that you heard in these songs that were expressed in a new or different way than you’ve heard before?  If so, what was different and did it make a difference to your understanding?



    #1 I think that they where mostly ones agents harper because he has done some pretty bad things and people have a lot to say about it. I also think that some of the people that have made them have a lot to say about the things that he has done and would like to see that change and by doing this they are getting there word out there and its in a super fun way.

  2. Amythest

    1. I know that not everybody agrees with Steven Harper on some of the things he changed. All these songs are in some way about Steven Harper and none of them are supporting him and his party, but they are supporting NDP well not all of them are directly supporting NDP. Also Steven Harper has been prime minister for quite a long time now. So people are wanting a change in Canada, so I guess people are starting to not support him now.

  3. iron lanturn

    #1I think why there are only songs criticizing Stephan Harper is because people don’t like his platform and politics so they don’t want people voting for him same with the liberals.So they didn’t make a song about them.
    There are many things about the conservative party that I don’t like so I agree with
    criticizing his party.

  4. PG Dinosaur

    Musicians are more likely to vote for the NDP or Green party. This may be because Harper is not helping them, or anything that they stand for. I believe that many artists aren’t rich, and are trying to start small businesses. This means that artists might find Harper’s government harmful, as it protects many wealthy people or big businesses. Many artists are interested in the environment, which is more important to the Green Part or the NDP. Many people might have noticed negative changes that happened to our country under Harper, which would make them less likely to support him.

  5. vid30 g@m3r

    1# I think that the reason that all the songs don’t say anything good about Harper is that his plan isn’t very good and the song “The Cut” shows how bad Harper is and how people are affected by his decision making. My opinion is that Harper is going to lose this election because I think that people have learned their lesson in putting him in charge and that he is not going to get support in this election.

  6. Crazychicken lover

    I think that they didnt make any anti liberal or anti ndp because right now they are not
    In the government and the people dont know much about them and that the people critizing harper is because they probally have something against harper and also because he did some pretty bad stuff that made people not like him.

  7. super cheese cake

    #1 I think it’s because Stephen Harper has been the prime minister so long that someone think we have to change the prime minister or someone don’t agree with what Stephen Harper was doing, so they started protesting. For Liberal, lots of people think Justin Trudeaw isn’t ready, so everyone thinks Tom Mulcair was perfect to be in charge. There is one more reason that there is no pro-Stephen Harper song because who voted for Stephen Harper are mostly old people and old people can’t really do hip hop dance or rap.

  8. den10@sea43

    #1 I think that there was no pro harper songs because not many people in this area like him because he has done some stuff that isn’t the best and people are protesting about him and what he has done. The reason I think that there was no anti Liberal or NDP is because they have nothing against them because NDP has never been in government and Justin trudeau is new and know won has anything against him.

  9. xaxo6 04

    #1 I think that there was no pro-Harper songs because maybe people don’t think that there’s any thing to say that will convince people to vote Harper. Also cities are more likely to vote left wing and cities make more pop culture than rural areas which is where Harper’s supporters are. I think there is no poetry because it doesn’t work in the way that raps or songs do. I think that there is no pro liberal because their supporters don’t need to get them more support because they already have enough to form government.

  10. crazymemeslol123

    #1 Stephen harper maybe the worst prime minister in Canada that’s probley the reason why he had no good music video songs about him or maybe he didn’t pay anything to the musicians so that’s why some are homeless or some just hate him we didn’t get to see any songs about Justin Trudeau maybe because of his attack ads he keeps putting them up on YouTube and it annoys the musicians that’s maybe the reason.

  11. smeagaleater10

    2# I think that the songs play a a part in the election because It may influence people’s votes. However, I think that it may affect a party so much that they might not get any votes or that a party would get all the votes. If it is in the form of protesting I am ok with it but, if it is just insulting another party I think it would be unfair.

  12. Shadow145

    #1 I think that there are not any good music about Stephen Harper because he maybe he was not really a great prime minister because he may not have payed attention to some people who ask him questions. I think the Justin Trudeau never got any good songs about him was because he may have did something wrong that made people hate him or he may have put to much ads that might annoy people.

  13. Rouge

    #2 I think that the “election songs” play a big part in the election and I think that they are really effective. I really like the idea of a catchy song that influences you and changes your mind about how you see the government and which MP to vote for. I think the songs are important and effective because people like us (Canadian citizens) made the songs and the songs are how they see the government and this election.I think it will influence how people vote knowing that their fellow people made it and wrote it to inspire people to vote.
    #3 The songs brought up a lot about the past of the government under the Conservatives leadership and how they promised this or did that and how this year it wont be different and that we have to elect someone to make a change in Canada. It really made me think if the government had done something and completely forgotten to tackle the problem of some other thing, it really shows, and brings my attention to what the parties values are and what issues they going to commit to and solve in Canada.

  14. Panda Tush

    1. I think that the anti Harper songs were created because I know a lot of people aren’t happy with the way he runs things and they don’t want him to be prime minister anymore. I am not surprised to find so any anti Harper songs.

    3. The message to me, was that the people or person making these videos were really dedicated to what they had to say.If they really didn’t like a party or a leader, they would make a song or a poem or a rap about it and same goes for the opposite. I have never heard this kind of way of expressing a message and I think its really unique that people do it. It was kind of hard to understand the rap though because of the fast words but the poem and the songs, I felt like I could listen to all day.

  15. Ginger

    I think that raps and music videos can be a very effective way to get your point across. Social media and YouTube have become so popular in the 21st century that both young and elderly people are using it, so videos can get around very fast and many people can see them. Music and raps are also much more interesting than speeches and plain talking, so some people may be more inclined to watch them. When a message is put to music it can be harder to understand what the artist is saying, but if it is done well, it is usually clear. If I ever made a campaign video for an election I would make it a fun singing video. If a party has more connections to better (cooler) artists they might have a more interesting video or song which could lead to more votes. Overall, I think that videos of all kinds are a very good way for candidates to get the word out about an election.

  16. baconguy

    #1. I think that there were 3 songs about Harper being bad because, while not every party is perfect, the Conservatives have too many flaws and are not looking to improve. The reason why I think that there were no songs that are supporting the Conservatives or Liberals was because they might not have the chance. If you think about it, 2 of the videos were songs performed by fairly popular bands and in the rap it showed that the person knew Myra Oreak, and that could of been what gave him the chance to perform on the stage we saw in the video. The other one I have no clue.

  17. The Baconator

    #2 Well I don’t think that these songs influence a lot of people to vote for someone because songs don’t really give a full message. Because they have the same lyrics over and over.
    #3 I mostly heard stuff about the CONSERVATIVES and they were saying the same thing about him. Obviously they are saying that they want Harper out and they want to be able to do the things that they want.

  18. Soccerboy123ABC

    #1 I think that the reason people only made songs about the 2015 federal election was that people were getting tired of the Conservatives and Steven Harper and they really didn’t care who was picked , people have learned there lesson putting Harper in charge . the reason there where no pro Liberal songs is that they are promising to do some of the same things as the conservatives .

  19. THEMANGO404

    #2 I think popular arts and culture are important because in the video it shows how they are protesting without breaking any laws. They are exercising rights to help themselves and the nation. Also, they’re important because they give you information (especially the poem) not just that they’re protesting, but what issues they’re protesting against. I think they’re effective because music is something that everybody likes and if you put a message in your music people will usually listen to it. People also tell you in the videos what they love about Canada–like Canada’s sustainable environment, the beautiful northern nature and its freedom.
    #3 Before I listened to the video, I wanted the NDP to win and after these videos, I just wanted Harper to lose. The videos told me all these things about Harper that I didn’t like, that he was destroying the environment and the economy and making everything so hard to do. He was abusing the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom and he put aside the Kyoto Protocol. I liked getting the message better through a song than through a poster or pamphlet because it showed me the message was from not paper, but real people speaking their opinions.

  20. Joaquin

    I think that the songs were sending a message about voting smarter this time, voting for change and for a government that cares about all of its people- not just the rich. I think that maybe we didn’t see any pro-Harper or pro-Liberal songs or spoken word is because so many people dislike the Harper government and they were unsure about the Liberals. I think using music and spoken word is a smart way to campaign because they’re more entertaining than just listening to someone talk. It’s easier to listen and to understand a song than it is to read a paragraph or listen to a boring speech.

    In “The Cut” video the way that Shane Koyzen talks about the Harper government by pointing out all the broken promises and cuts made is very powerful. It really makes you think about it all because he uses headlines to show us the many things that were done. By seeing what he was talking about it I was able to understand it more, I could hear him but I could also see it and I think that helped me to fully understand his poem.

  21. Koshka2

    1# I think that Stephen Harper is bad to be a government! Because he doesn’t Answer Our questions! It’s okay for me that the Liberal Party won so that ‘ Harper ‘ didn’t win .

    Too bad that there were so song about Liberal 😦

  22. TechNerd

    #1 I feel that there were lots of anti-Harper songs because most people hate Harper for his lack of listening to Canadian Citizens and then of course, Allowing the Pipelines. I am sure we all know that most of Canada hates Harper or at least Vancouver does. We have all seen the Stop Harper Stop Signs. Also there haven’t been many Liberal songs or against NDP Because NDP and Liberal havent done anything that bad to Canada unlike the Conservatives. Maybe the have done some things but they have not done major things.

  23. Sr.Fruitcake

    #1 Well I think that there was an extreme desire for change from Harper which I think is why there were no pro Harper songs. I also think that the people who support the Conservatives are not quite the sort of people who would make songs to show their opinion.
    The reason for there being no pro Liberal songs is unclear to me but I think that people who are voting anti Harper or pro NDP are the sort of people who get out there and do something like this or are passionate about the arts which Harper has been hard on. The Liberals were a good Party but I think that the people who support them were just not quite as committed to supporting their preferred Party and having their message heard.

  24. Purple Pickle

    #1 I think the reason there weren’t any pro liberal or pro conservative is because maybe nobody really really likes conservative or liberal, maybe they were just strategically voting cause the party they actually wanted to vote for didn’t have a chance. Or maybe all the musical people in canada hate Trudeau & Harper 😀

  25. balloongirl123

    1 I think that all of those songs but not the rap is all about Stephen harper because when i heard those song it just sounded like about Stephen harper. Those songs are pretty important about the democracy and the election.

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