Vanishing Canada: Why we’re all losers in Ottawa’s war on data (Maclean's)

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7. We need to make sure everyone we know votes

Low voter turnout has traditionally benefited conservatives. And as we've seen, they're trying everything to make sure those who oppose them have a hard time voting. The last federal election had 61% voter turnout, with seniors voting at roughly twice the rate of college-age voters. In some areas the turnout was substantially lower.

Elections Canada has some handy charts of voting history. Have a look -- they may not be there in the future.
http://www.elections.ca/content.aspx?section=res&dir=rec/part/estim/41ge&document=report41&lang=e

But like you, I've run into few people who use the devil-you-know line or say their vote is meaningless. I've told them about voter turnout and that those 40% who didn't vote would have changed the results. They're one of those 40%. Their vote is not meaningless.