Poor voter turnout in our recent municipal elections has me wondering why people don’t take full advantage of their right to vote.

Welcome to the 183^rd edition of The Sunday Spark, a series with weekly thoughts and highlights, nuggets of learning, and a quote of the week. Along with thoughts on our right to vote, this week’s edition looks at New Orleans fun facts, the world’s largest electric ferry, and floating chargers.

On my mind this week: Seize your right to vote

On Monday, some voters across Ontario headed to the polls to elect new municipal governments. I say some because voter turnout was pitiful. The Association of Municipalities of Ontario reports just 36% of eligible voters bothered to take advantage of their right to vote.

Here locally, the picture is even worse. In Kitchener, where I live, just 22% of eligible voters cast a ballot—the lowest turnout in the province. Neighbouring communities did a little better. In the city of Waterloo, voter turnout was 31%. In Cambridge, it was 27%.

Voter turnout in provincial and federal elections is higher, but still a large percentage of people don’t bother to vote. In the 2025 Ontario provincial election, voter turnout was just 45%. And the 2025 federal election, which took place at a pivotal point in our history, saw just 69% of eligible voters cast a ballot.

Why don’t people vote?

I have to wonder why people don’t take advantage of every opportunity to exercise their right to vote. In this local election, voting was easier than ever before. You could vote at any location in your ward on election day. Several days of advance voting were available, including drive-through voting. There really was no excuse not to vote.

I can only guess that people who don’t vote think provincial and federal politics are more important than local elections. They’re wrong.

Local governments provide many of the services that affect our lives on a daily basis: road maintenance, snow removal, parks and recreation, libraries and community centres, local transit, emergency services (police, fire, ambulance), waste management, water and sewers, community housing and nursing homes, and more.

Take full advantage of your right to vote

Politics are increasingly divisive and nasty, so I understand why people are disillusioned.

We should never forget that people gave their lives so we could be free and have the right to vote. People are imperfect, so there will never be a perfect candidate. Even so, each of us citizens has an obligation to pay attention, understand the issues, and vote for the candidate that most closely aligns with our values and beliefs.

Choosing not to vote is not a protest. It’s a slippery slope. If enough people don’t exercise their right to vote, it opens the door for unscrupulous politicians to possibly do away with elections altogether, or to take away the right to vote from certain groups. (I’m looking at you here ladies!)

Don’t let that happen. Seize your right to vote in every local, provincial/state, or federal election.

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Quote of the week

This week’s quotes about voting come from two wise women from different eras.

It’s not enough to just want change … You have to go and make change by voting.

Taylor Swift

Someone struggled for your right to vote. Use it.

Susan B. Anthony

Three highlights of the week

It’s important to celebrate big milestones and simple pleasures in life. Keeping the trend going, here are three highlights of the week gone by:

• I enjoyed the rest of my time in New Orleans and my travels home on Tuesday were smooth. I arrived back in Toronto early and was able to catch an earlier bus back to Kitchener.
• The weather has remained lovely this week. I don’t remember ever drying laundry outdoors this late in October before.
• On Friday, I had a burst of domesticity. First, I made lentil tortilla soup for lunch. It was delicious. Then, I made homemade banana bread with some overripe bananas.  

Things I learned this week

Life is all about learning. Here are three things I learned this week:

New Orleans fun facts

While in New Orleans, I had the opportunity to ride the Hop-On-Hop-Off bus and do a walking tour of the French Quarter. Here are a few things I learned from the guides:

• Louisiana was named after the French King Louis XIV.
• Creole and Cajun aren’t just about food. Creole refers to a French Catholic living in the city. Cajun refers to a French Catholic living in the country.
• It’s bad luck to pick up Mardi Gras beads from the ground. You’re supposed to catch them in the air.
• I always thought Mardi Gras took place only on the few days before Lent but Mardi Gras season runs from January 6 (the feast of the Epiphany) to Fat Tuesday (the day before Lent starts).
• The Mississippi River is an important river for shipping. Moving goods on the river costs 1/10^th of moving them on land.

Argentina launches the world’s largest electric ferry

Electric ferries are gaining in popularity. Until now, most of them have been smaller vessels. The world’s largest electric ferry was recently launched in Argentina to make the trip across the Rio de la Plata estuary from Buenos Aires to Colonia, Uruguay.

Built by Australian company Incat, the China Zorilla is 130 metres (426 feet) long and can carry 225 cars and 2100 passengers.

(Source: Clean Technica)

Floating chargers show promise

Lack of charging infrastructure is one of the barriers to electrifying the shipping industry. Canadian company Mostar Labs aims to address that with the Lilypad—modular, floating battery banks that serve as portable marine power hubs that can be used to charge electric boats, run remote equipment or transmit electricity generated from waves.

Mostar has two units already in use in B.C.’s Gulf islands and hopes to automate and ramp up production.

(Source: Be Giant)

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I’d love to hear what you think about any of this week’s topics. Drop me a comment below and let me know your thoughts and ideas.