More than ever before, Canada鈥檚 political parties need to be able to speak to the millennial generation.

The B.C. Federation of Students launched its 鈥極ur Time is Now鈥� campaign last week on Vancouver Island in an effort to get students registered and engaged in the lead-up to the Oct. 21 federal election.

According to a report by the BCFS, the 2019 election marks 鈥渢he first time in 40 years that Canadians under 35 will form the largest age cohort,鈥� with millennials representing 37 per cent of the electorate.

鈥淲hich is historic,鈥� said Tanysha Klassen, chairperson of the B.C. Federation of Students. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 a huge number of young people that are going to really be able to shift the vote.鈥�

In the 2015 federal election, voter turnout among Canadians aged 18-24 spiked to 57.1 per cent, from 38.8 per cent in 2011 and even lower than that in 2008. Klassen said people who vote for a first time are more likely to vote a second time, and so on, 鈥渟o it turns into a lifelong pattern.鈥�

She said it鈥檚 exciting when she鈥檚 approached by students who have just turned 18 and want to know the process for registering and finding out information about the parties and candidates.

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鈥淚t鈥檚 like a privilege you gain when you become that age and suddenly you can help make decisions,鈥� said Anouk Borris, chairperson of the Vancouver Island University Students鈥� Union.

VIUSU launched its get-out-the-vote efforts last Tuesday in Nanaimo as a part of a club information event at the university鈥檚 cafeteria, and campus young Greens and young Conservatives attended.

Klassen said young people basically care about the 鈥渆xact same issues鈥� as other voter groups, with affordability and climate high on the list.

鈥淲e don鈥檛 have niche issues but we鈥檙e also not a homogeneous group,鈥� she said. 鈥淓verybody has these similar issues, like the rest of the population does, but the ways that young people want to go about handling those issues varies greatly.鈥�

The BCFS report notes that there are 鈥渞eal struggles鈥� facing millennials including affordability, climate change, human rights and limited access to stable economic opportunities.

鈥淢illennials will be galvanized to seek solutions,鈥� the report notes, including at the ballot box.

The report also comments that 鈥渘egative tropes about youth apathy perpetuated by the media and by pundits are a form of voter suppression鈥� by suggesting to young people that their vote won鈥檛 matter because not enough of their peers are voting. The 鈥極ur Time is Now鈥� campaign, said Klassen, is meant to empower young people this election.

鈥淲e know that we get out and vote and that we鈥檙e activists and that we鈥檙e engaged,鈥� she said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 just always been a negative narrative through media and older generations saying the young people don鈥檛 vote, which we all know is wrong, but we need to make sure we get out there and prove that to people.鈥�

For more information about the campaign, visit .

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