Here’s the Most Embarrassing Music Video in Canadian History

Voter apathy is an issue that plagues young Canadians, so when I saw that student groups in Ontario had released a series of get-out-the-vote music videos, my first thought was: that's nice.

Upon closer review, however, one has to wonder if these well-meaning kids are trying to embarrass their peers into voting. Because the only reaction I foresee is viewers cringing while simultaneously slamming down on their laptop's mute button and/or ripping out their earphones.

Let's start with "I'm Gunna Vote," which comes to us from the Carleton University Students Association. If the idea behind doing a music video is to stay relevant to the young people, it's unclear why the students chose to parody "I'm On A Boat," a song that was popular in the summer of 2009.

Clad in a mix of formal wear and T-shirts bearing maple leaves, a group of about 15 students bounce around school grounds chanting, "I'm gonna vote, I'm gonna vote, everybody look at me 'cause I'm voting at a poll. I'm gonna vote, I'm gonna vote, take a good hard look at the motherfuckin' vote."

What? Not trying to split hairs here, but when people refer to "the vote" it's a figure of speech—not something you can physically see, let alone take a good hard look at.

"Take a picture trick, I'm gonna vote bitch," declares the young blonde lead, all hard as fuck, whose black cocktail dress and tendency to over enunciate cuss words do her no favours.

I had higher hopes for University of Guelph's students, who decided to lip sync to Taylor Swift's "Shake It Off" instead of performing their own version of the already-brilliant song. Who cares if the lyrics have absolutely nothing to do with democracy—the students holding ballot boxes and riding around on horseback with Canadian flags gets the message across. Things take a sharp turn into terrible, though, with a completely unnecessary EDM sequence during which everyone busts out selfie sticks (because they inexplicably want more evidence of this moment).

Seriously kids, how are you letting Blue Rodeo be cooler than you?

Who needs the Fair Elections Act? These music videos are enough to deter anyone from wanting to go near a ballot box ever again.

Follow Manisha Krishnan on Twitter.