From classroom to control room: U of T students join Global News on election night

Political science students at the University of Toronto recently swapped the classroom for the newsroom, joining the Global News Decision Canada desk on election night to help project results during the network’s live national broadcast.

This hands-on learning experience marked a first-time collaboration between Global News and Semra Sevi, an assistant professor of political science in U of T’s Faculty of Arts & Science who researches elections and voting in Canada.

“Students had the unique opportunity to work side-by-side with producers, applying classroom knowledge in a high-stakes, real-world setting,” Sevi says.

“I can’t think of a more exciting place to be on election night than behind the scenes in the newsroom, helping call results and shape live coverage of such a historic moment. They were absolutely thrilled to be involved.”

Students analyzed vote counts, tracked ridings and contributed to real-time decision-making by identifying winners based on incoming results. At times, they had to shout over the newsroom din to announce sudden flips in closely contested riding or highlight notable trends – sometimes earning praise from producers.

Lucas Sousa, a political science major and member of St. Michael's College, says it was a thrill contributing to the storytelling behind election coverage.

“If we spotted a potential flip or a trend emerging about a notable candidate – like a longtime Conservative stronghold leaning Liberal or Minister of Foreign Affairs and Liberal incumbent Mélanie Joly doing well in her race – we flagged it to the news team,” he says.

“Seeing that reflected live on TV was surreal.”

To prepare for the fast pace of election night, Global and Sevi held two days of rehearsals to train students. Each student, working individually or in small teams, was responsible for monitoring about 30 ridings. They were paired with a producer to help flag any significant developments as the night unfolded.

Students selected which ridings they were interested in monitoring, and high-profile ones were spread out among the group – including Toronto–St. Paul’s, which flipped back to the Liberals after a surprise Conservative win in a previous byelection.

As in class, students raised their hands when they had potential ridings to call, and Sevi reviewed the data before giving them the green light to pass their updates on to Global News producers. Moments later, the station’s anchors would share those insights live on air.

Zain Al Naji, a third-year political science major and member of Trinity College, says watching polling data unfold helped her connect classroom concepts to real-world outcomes.

“People assume that women get fewer votes, but in class we’ve learned that isn’t necessarily supported by historical data. NDP incumbent Niki Ashton, for example, has won the vote in her Manitoba riding for the past 17 years,” she says. “Though this election, it looked like she’d lose her seat to the Liberals’ Rebecca Chartrand – which was fascinating to follow in real time.” (Chartrand won the riding of Churchill-Keewatinook Aski.)

As results continued to roll in past midnight, students were in the newsroom for some of the night’s most newsworthy moments – from Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre losing his Ottawa riding and Green Party candidate Elizabeth May winning her seat, to the NDP losing federal party status – and, finally, Mark Carney being officially declared Canada’s prime minister.

The rush of being in the middle of the action and playing a meaningful role in the democratic process prompted students to reflect on their post-graduation paths.

Al Naji, who is minoring in near and Middle Eastern civilizations and diaspora and transnational studies, says the opportunity broadened her career considerations.

“I’ve thought about international relations or diplomacy, but now I’ve come away with a lot of respect for media work. It takes a village to pull off a live news broadcast, working seamlessly to get it right and do it well under pressure.”

Sousa, who is graduating in June, says the experience solidified his dream of becoming a journalist.

“I worked at The Varsity, and now being in the Global newsroom, that environment is where I feel most like myself. It really feels like the start of something.”