Is it time for 16-year-olds to vote in Canadian elections?
The Vote16 summit was held on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Wednesday in a renewed effort to lower Canada's voting age. After years of trying to make the change, the head of Canada's Young Politicians says the time has come. This group advocates the participation of young people between the ages of 14 and 24 in politics. They also argue that the youth should be involved in decisions that affect the country's forward movement.
Spencer Lambert, one of the group's members, said: "The status quo does not give us the space to share beliefs and change policies." Senator Marilou McPhedran has introduced a bill in the Senate that may go to a second vote in the coming weeks. If approved, the voting age in the country will be reduced to 16 years.
"In every country where the federal voting age has been lowered, good things have happened to democracy," he says. What we are talking about is injecting energy and vitality into democracy." Other countries that have lowered the voting age to 16 include Argentina, Austria, Brazil, Cuba, Ecuador and Nicaragua. In Canada, up to In 1970, the voting age for federal elections was 21, which was later reduced to 18.
The New Democratic Party, the Greens and some liberal representatives have supported lowering the age to 16, but the government and conservatives are against it.
If this change happens, two million people will be added to the number of Canadian voters.
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