11 Comments

As a high school teacher for 20 years, both in Canada and internationally, I can assure anyone who opposes the idea of 16- and 17-year-olds voting that this group of people are passionate about truth and justice. They ask tough questions and don’t tolerate bullshit. We need more voters like these!

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I was a teacher too and couldn’t agree more.

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I can get behind lowering the voting age, but without other significant electoral reforms and new ways to reach citizens, I don't see how existing patterns won't just be replicated with a slightly younger age cohort.

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I agree that 16 year - old members of our society should be granted the right to vote. Arguments against it are no different that the arguments presented with the voting age was lowered from age 21. However, coupled with that right, should be an increased emphasis on the study of Parliamentary Democracy in High school, including the study of the Constitution and the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. I am also of the view that every Canadian University Student, regardless of their field of study be required to take a university level course on the same subject matter

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For sure. Current practice in Ontario does cover the constitution and the charter of rights and freedoms - I remember learning about rights and freedoms as early as elementary school, and then from a more Canadian focused lens once reaching high school history. That being said, the fact that we gain this knowledge but don’t have the opportunity to apply it until years later once we reach voting age decreases it’s relevance to us. If anything, they should make civics and careers a mandatory course for students in grade twelve instead of in grade ten.

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Interesting discussion. First, I believe we need to distinguish between Municipal vs Provincial/Federal levels of government. I live in York Region, where the Municipal level is further complicated by distinction of single v multipe tier levels. (The Region is the upper level, and does the "heavy lifting" of social services, transportation, policing - more policy based. The 9 municipalities are classified as lower tier, and tend to be more service based - waste pickup, snow plowing, recreational facilities, etc. And, yes, there is always crossover.) These services are funded in large part, by property taxes. So, perhaps a better question is "should non-propery-tax-payers" be allowed to vote on services that someone else pays for? (Yes, that argument could be expanded for many other areas, but Municipal is really the only level of government where residents have active input).

Also worth asking is "should non-citizens be allowed to vote in Municipal elections?" All things being equal, they pay the same amount of tax dollars, for the same services as their neighbours, but don't get a say. Is that fair?

Asking a question like 'should 16-year-olds get the vote" elicits black-and-white answers to what is a very gray area. And does a disservice to all involved.

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Voting should be mandatory. Anyone from 16-79 should be required to vote. That’s right, I think anyone 80+ should be thanked for doing their civic duty in the past and should not be able to vote any longer. Your vote should not exceed your life expectancy.

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I would oppose this initiative until the "woke" influence is flushed out of universities, schools and school boards. The exclusionary implications of the "mind virus" are too destructive to be tolerated by the importance of voting.

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Nov 19
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Sure, but why do we all universally act like humans gain a completely new way of knowing once they hit 18? The maturity difference in terms of political awareness between 16-18 is slim, especially now. Gen Z especially - we’ve had information at our fingertips since birth and have been more aware of current affairs than ever before. The only real maturity jump I had once I turned 18 was moving for university, but that doesn’t apply to every 18 year old, and like the essay argued, why are we choosing a time when we’re moving away as the time we get to vote?

If you can trust us to drive on your streets by 16 (objectively WAY more risky than me getting a decimal % chance of choosing a politician), why not trust us to vote?

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Exactly. I went to a university that had students from around the country and there was little difference in maturity between the 17 year olds from some provinces to the 19/20 year olds from mostly Ontario and Quebec. Some were more mature and some were less mature and it had nothing to do with age.

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And yet every party will let teens as young as 14 vote for their leaders.

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