It Was Just a Ride to the Polls. But It Meant Everything.
I hadn’t planned to post again so soon. I’ve been trying to limit myself to a few a week. But a conversation with a close friend in the Greater Toronto Area won’t leave me alone. It’s not about political parties or platforms. It’s about democracy, and the quiet acts that hold it together.
My friend had volunteered a few hours of her time to help a local candidate by giving rides to people who otherwise couldn’t get to the polls. No fanfare. No hashtags. Just service. And what she shared with me needs to be shared.
She picked up an elderly Greek woman in her 80s, living far from the polling station, who likely wouldn’t have made it without help. She brought a newcomer family, likely Muslim, led by a woman in a full burqa, to cast what might have been their first Canadian vote. And she went into one of the roughest housing complexes in the area to pick up a young Black man, someone she was nervous to meet at first, alone in a part of town known for violence. She waited longer than expected. Her anxiety kicked in. And then he showed up, kind, thoughtful, engaged, and they ended up having a warm, honest conversation.
Each of these stories hit me hard. And they should hit all of us.
Because none of this is theoretical. None of this is about talking points or party lines. This is about real people, doing something real, in a country that gives us the right to participate, and, for many, the will to do better than the last chapter of their story.
There was one more moment that she hesitated to tell me, but I’m so glad she did. My friend is Jewish. When the woman in the burqa, speaking in a language my friend didn’t understand, turned to ask her if she spoke any other languages, my friend panicked for a second. She worried that if she mentioned Hebrew or identified herself as Jewish, it might create tension, might disrupt the fragile harmony in that moment. But here’s the thing: difference didn’t matter. What mattered was that, for a few minutes, they were just two Canadian women, one helping the other exercise her democratic right. It was community in its truest, most honest form.
So if you’re feeling discouraged today, maybe upset by the outcome of the election, or tempted by the talk of division or separation, I want you to think of those three people. An elderly woman who may have cast her final vote. A new citizen who may have cast her first. A young man who chose hope over cynicism, even when the odds weren’t in his favour.
And I want you to think of my friend, who thought she “hadn’t done much.” Because the truth is, she did everything. No one handed her a megaphone. No one gave her a podium. But in those few hours, she made democracy real — not in theory, but in action.
So no, you don’t need a flag on your truck. You don’t need to yell louder than everyone else online. You just need to show up — for someone else.
And to my friend: I promise you, those passengers will never forget the ride. And neither will I.
Nancy's Notes 