On Dec. 13, Taylor Bachrach, NDP MP of Skeena-Bulkley Valley, introduced bill C-210 [The Right to Vote at 16 Act], which is intended to lowest the voting age to 16 for federal elections. This is keeping in line with the NDP’s long history of trying to improve voter turnout by enabling younger people to vote. The bill is similar to several other private bills that have been tabled by NDP MPs in the past.
“The decisions our country faces today have tremendous bearing on young people,” said Bachrach. “With the ongoing global pandemic, worsening climate change and growing economic inequality, young people’s future is at stake. They deserve to be at the table and this bill will put them there.”
In the 2021 federal election that took place in September, Canada saw approximately 62.5 per cent of its population cast a ballot according to Elections Canada, the lowest percentage in a federal election since 2011.
As the bill moves forward for debate in the coming months, Bachrach has committed cross party lines in reaching out for support for the initiative. He notes that MPs from at least three parties have tabled versions of the bill in past Parliaments.