OPINION: 'Sixteen- and 17-year-olds take on all kinds of responsibilities but are excluded from participating in the most fundamental aspect of our democracy,' taylorbachrach argues in a case for lowering the voting age to 16.
MPs shouldn’t refuse to lower the voting age out of political self-interest or the fear of what young Canadians would do with their vote.NDP MP Taylor Bachrach speaks about changing the voting age to 16 during a news conference on Parliament Hill on Sept. 28, 2022, in Ottawa.
Sixteen- and 17-year-olds take on all kinds of responsibilities but are excluded from participating in the most fundamental aspect of our democracy. My bill, the Right to Vote at 16 Act, would have helped people like Emily make their voices heard. It’s part of an international movement to enfranchise young people that has already changed the law in 13 countries, including Austria, Scotland, Wales and Argentina.
Young Canadians are worried they’ll never be able to afford rent, let alone a home, in the communities where they live and work. The worsening climate emergency has prompted thousands of young Canadians to protest the inaction they see from elected officials in cities across the country. The false claim that young people are uninformed or apathetic simply doesn’t stack up.
One Conservative told me straight out she wouldn’t back the bill because young people were unlikely to vote for her. Such sentiments should be particularly offensive to young people because it suggests their exclusion from the franchise isn’t based on a lack of maturity, but rather on the self-interest of those in power and the fear of what young Canadians would do with their vote.
It may seem counterintuitive but lowering the voting age has the potential to address this troubling trend. At 16 or 17, most young people are in high school, living at home, in the community — and federal riding — where they grew up. These factors all increase the likelihood they’ll make that critical first trip to the polls, which in turn increases the likelihood of becoming a lifelong voter.
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