Mitch MacDonald received thousands of votes each week on "Canadian Idol" and now he wants the youth of the nation to vote for another important title - who will become the next leader of the country.

"Something like this I think is way more important ... one vote, that's all you've got to do," said MacDonald.

The "Idol" runner-up will perform at the Rockin' in the Free World concert Saturday night at the Grand Parade in Halifax presented by D250 and Apathy is Boring, two non-partisan organizations working to re-engage youth in the political process.

"I think a lot of young people, as well as me when I first became of age to vote, I just kind of took it for granted. I thought it was something that our parents and older folks took care of," said MacDonald, 22. "It's totally important we take part because a group of young people can totally change the outcome."

MacDonald, who hails from Port Hood, N.S., is pumped to play for a huge, young hometown crowd.

"If they see people like themselves who are kind of mentors for the age group that should be out there voting then I think they'll kind of latch on to that. If we show our support, then they'll get it and show their support, too, hopefully."

The concert will have several "Canadian Idol" connections, including performances by this season's newly crowned winner Theo Tams, Season 2's Jacob Hoggard, who will headline the event with his band Hedley, and Season 5 Top 4 finisher Dwight d'Eon, who has also become an Ambassador for D250, an organization that celebrates the anniversary of parliamentary democracy.

"I think it's a step in the right direction, to get a whole bunch of young people in one big place and while we're all having a good time, just give them the message," said d'Eon.

1.2M under 25 didn't vote

D250 is a branch of Democracy 250 - a government-legislated organization put in place to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the birth of parliamentary democracy in Canada, which happened in Nova Scotia.

The youth initiative aims to inform young people about voting and the upcoming federal election through advertisements, an edgy website, and a series of free concerts like Rockin' in the Free World.

"The idea is if you're going to reach youth through any kind of social marketing campaign, you have to go where they're at, you have to talk their language and you have to use their means of communicating ... you have kind of a captive audience and music will bring them out," said Moira MacLeod, director of Communications with D250.

She is thrilled to have such support from "Canadian Idol" competitors, both past and present, and believes their huge fan following will help bring young people to the show.

"Theo, well, he's the 'Canadian Idol' and he's a tremendous talent. Mitch, also a tremendous talent, but the other thing is, he's a hometown boy and we're all very proud of his involvement with 'Canadian Idol' and how well he finished ... so I think they'll both be big draws," said MacLeod.

Information will be distributed throughout the concert, emcees and artists will give a shout out to the cause and D250 staff will be on hand to answer any questions young people may have.

Youth apathy is a significant issue in Canada, according to MacLeod. She said in the last federal general election, 1.2 million young Canadians under the age of 25 didn't vote, which means 75 per cent of that particular demographic did not exercise their right.

"One of the things we're trying to convey is if youth want their issues on the political agenda, they have to get out there and vote," said MacLeod. "If a good portion of that 1.2 million voted they could change the outcome in constituencies across the country and perhaps decide who's going to form the next government."

D250 held a number of youth symposiums in the spring and MacLeod said they were particularly surprised at what they found.

MacLeod thought the reason youth weren't voting was because they didn't trust the politicians, but said that concern rarely came up.

"What did come up is they don't understand the political process. They don't necessarily understand the differences between the political parties. They're not sure who their MLA is ... and I think there's a mystery around voting. Some said they thought it was a very intimidating process when it's really not."

Democracy is sexy

It's something a group called Apathy is Boring would like young people to believe.

The national organization was established just before the 2004 federal election by three young artists who thought the current campaigns weren't effective in reaching out to youth.

Its slogan 'apathy is boring and democracy is sexy' struck a chord and their campaign has been gaining momentum ever since, according to Ilona Dougherty, executive director and co-founder.

"We've seen an increase in young voter turnout since the 2004 election so we can't claim all of that at all but we do believe our work has contributed to that. We have been surveying thousands of youth across Canada this past spring and summer about their voting habits and that has allowed us to start tracking exactly who are the young people that we're reaching, are we really reaching an engaged youth and how they're affected by our work so we're more and more learning how our work makes a difference."

Apathy is Boring has received interest from the media, as well as artists and celebrities who have supported the cause, including "Canadian Idol" judge Sass Jordan.

"It's just the reality that music and art is inspiring and when you relate to an artist and that artist is willing to tell you what they care about in their lives and in their communities it makes those issues more pressing and relevant to you," said Dougherty.

The group has partnered with D250 on the concert series and Dougherty says it's been a mutually beneficial relationship.

They will also be on the ground at the Rockin' in the Free World concert to distribute information.

Not so apathetic after all?

Kevin Millsip, who co-founded a campaign called Get Your Vote On before the 2005 provincial election in B.C., says young people aren't as apathetic as some might think and it's actually the political parties who are missing the mark when it comes to connecting with youth.

"The more I do this work the more I feel like that's a cop-out on behalf of the commentators or people who are saying young people don't care. Young people do care. They care a lot, especially if you look at the interest of young Canadians in what's happening internationally," said Millsip.

Millsip says part of the problem is the old-fashioned way politicians are campaigning in this country.

"There's no silver bullet ... If you want to engage young voters you have to go where young people are. It doesn't make sense now in terms of how people are communicating to go stand on a street corner and expect people to come to you."