Voting Age in Canada Essay - 1834 Words

Voting Age in Canada The young as well as the older people of Canada seem to be in a deadlock. The question of if the federal government should or should not lower the voting age is a question debated surely around the dinner tables of families in Canada, as well as in the ranks of the government. Some people even suggest that the age needs to be raised. What would make people want the voting age to be lowered to an even lower age than the young adult age of 18? On the other hand how can the youth of Canada who have their own individual views be able to make a difference without being able to vote? Both sides provide for an intriguing look into the facts and resolutions for an appropriate way to either change the voting age or keep†¦show more content†¦Thousands of these young adults are politically informed, politically active and have the concerns and demands many of the people who actually vote have. However, the youth of Canada also have concerns of their own which they are unable to address substantially. People under the age of eighteen for the most part are concerned in matters much different than say an employed thirty five-year-old. The youth under eighteen still are in high school they are concerned about as a grade 10 student from Western Canada High School put class sizes, teacher disputes, and minimum wage, (Thompson) among other things. He later goes on to state the fact that by the time he has indeed graduated and become eighteen years old, he will no longer be interested in class sizes nor teacher disputes, therefore he will not address them in his decision on who he decided to vote for. This is a very valid argument and it is also true for the most part to say that the voices of these concerned children should be heard via the vote of their parents. The government of Canada sees the parents as a voice for their children, however parents inevitably will vote in a bias towards their needs such as tax cuts. Without the availability and opportunity to vote and voice their opinions in an electoral system the youth of Canada are left to impact the political process in other ways. Thousands of youth are involved in political parties, political rallies and interest groupsShow MoreRelatedShould 16 Year Olds Be Able?1298 Words   |  6 Pagesolds be able to Vote in Canada? At the age of 16, many Canadian youth can drive a vehicle, be tried and sentenced as an adult in a court of law, have a job and pay taxes, teenagers are just as affected from government policies than the rest of Canada. So the question is why can’t 16 and 17 year olds vote in a federal election. Having voting age lowered to 16 will have greater benefits to Canada as whole than not having them vote at all. Furthermore, besides from the voting I find it completelyRead MoreShould Mandatory Voting Be Banned?912 Words   |  4 Pages As a result, mandatory voting has gained the attention of many political scientists and political analysts. While there are good reasons to worry about Canadians’ diminishing voter turn-out, it is also fair to say that mandatory voting will not prove beneficial to the future of Canada’s democracy. Although mandatory voting will increase the voter turn-out, it will not create an informed voter base and neither raise a more politically kn owledgeable society. Making voting compulsory is accompaniedRead MoreVoting Is A Staple Of Our Society911 Words   |  4 Pagesthe elections of Canada in 2015, I was conversing with a friend of mine apropos the arising issues that might affect us as Canadian citizens. My friend was telling me how she was distraught by Prime minster Harper’s policies and ideals. 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There are three prominent examples that support my argument, firstly, because of the issues brought forward, The Indian Act modified Section 77(1) which regards voting in band elections. Secondly, in 1960Read MoreThe Suffrage Of The United States1201 Words   |  5 Pageselecting members to office. Therefore, by 1965 all United States citizens were given the right to vote, and the federal government undertook precautions to ensure that states could not disenfranchise people based on their race, religion, or gender. B. Canada Long before the Canadian parliamentary institutions were created in the late eighteenth century, â€Å"Canada’s [Indian] peoples had developed their own systems of government . . . [such as] the Six Nations Confederacy, sometimes referred to as the oldestRead MoreInfluence of Compulsory Voting1626 Words   |  7 PagesIdea of Compulsory Voting After Australia, Singapore, and Switzerland implemented compulsory voting and the turnout of voters grew, other democratic countries began wondering if the idea should be implemented globally. Research began on how this implementation affected countries with compulsory voting in place and how it would affect other countries such as Canada (Twomey, 2013). The idea that Canada, or another similarly democratic country, should pass a policy of compulsory voting would be againstRead MoreWere the needs of Quebecois Effectively Met?1078 Words   |  5 Pages From the Confederation of Canada, to present day, French Canadians have always thought that Canadas path towards the future should be embodied in a different manner. Several events in Canadian History have resulted in several heated feelings between French and English Canadians. 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