Why the voting age should be lowered to 16
In Ontario, at the age of 16 you can join the military, get your driver’s licence, and pay income taxes, but you cannot vote.
In addition, in Canada, we allow citizens at merely 14 years of age to join political parties and vote for their leader — a decision that ultimately shapes the direction of our governance. The parties embrace the voices of their youngest members, but when provincial election day approaches, these active party members are left voiceless. Earlier this month, Liberal MPP Arthur Potts introduced a private member’s bill, which seeks to lower Ontario’s legal voting age from 18 to 16 — following in the footsteps of countries like Austria, Ireland, and Brazil who have all lowered their voting ages. Mandated by the Ministry of Education, every grade 10 student in Ontario must take civics and careers, a course in which students learn about governance and discuss the implications of current affairs. The course allows students to grasp the concepts surrounding the political climate, so why not empower these same students by giving them the right to vote?
More than half of Canadian schools currently participate in the Student Vote initiative by CIVIX, which is a simulated election that mirrors the political process. The voter turnout is high and often reflective of the riding’s and country’s political views. However, youth voter turnout in actual elections is inherently low. In the 2014 provincial election, only 51 per cent of youth voted. One study by Eva Zeglovits and Julian Aichholzer suggests that by lowering the minimum voting age we will increase voter turnout, because students will develop a habit of voting, while being integrated into an environment that encourages debate and analysis of current affairs.
Our youth are eager, ambitious, and ready to accelerate change — as demonstrated by Guelph’s own Noah Irvine. Irvine, age 17, wrote to 338 members of Parliament, expressing his thoughts on a National Mental Health Strategy. Despite his activism and dedication for change, he cannot vote.
Canada’s youth are not apathetic. Current election studies may reflect historically low voter turnout, but they are not a complete picture of youth civic engagement. In fact, over 16,000 young people applied to be on the Prime Minister’s Youth Council.
The bills that the Ontario Legislative Assembly pass influence factors including education, environment, and economy. If young Canadians are directly impacted by the decisions of our governing bodies, their voices should be reflected in our elections.
Image by Alora Griffiths/The Ontarion