Should voting in Canada start at age 16? Teens lead the charge in Toronto

Expert explains arguments for and against

Here’s what you need to know

A group of teenagers are urging Toronto to lower the voting age for city elections from 18 to 16.
This would prevent them from voting in municipal elections, but would give them a say in changes in their neighborhoods.
They say the effort is a first step in a larger movement to lower the voting age in all elections at the municipal, state and federal levels.
Read on to hear arguments for and against the change.

When Toronto City Council convenes this week for its November meeting, 16-year-old Jaden Braves and 17-year-old Sarah Morra will be in attendance.

Why? Because they want Toronto – and ultimately the rest of Canada – to take youth voices more seriously.

Jaden and Sarah helped draft a motion that would allow 16 and 17 year olds to vote in something called city elections, giving them a say in the changes being made in their neighborhood.

Toronto city councilors will discuss and vote on their motion this week.

The teens say their efforts are the first step in a larger movement to lower the voting age in Canada to 16 for municipal, provincial and federal elections.

Toronto city polls

Jaden Braves is the CEO and founder of Young Politicians of Canada and has been involved in politics for several years.

He was the youngest person ever elected to the federal council of the Green Party of Canada.

“But I always felt that as a young person in politics it was difficult to have my voice heard or taken seriously,” said the 16-year-old from Toronto.

“To me it’s just clear. Many 16-year-olds have a job, pay taxes, use transportation and other public services. We need to have a say in making decisions about the things we use.”

Jaden Braves, CEO of Young Politicians of Canada, left, and Aleksi Toivianan, national co-leader of Vote16, stand outside City Hall in Toronto. (Image submitted by Jaden Braves)

So Jaden teamed up with Aleksi Toiviainen to change that.

Aleksi is part of a group called Vote16. Its mission is to lower the voting age for federal, provincial and territorial elections.

“We thought, ‘Why don’t we do this at the municipal level and show the rest of the country that something like this could work on a smaller scale?’” Jaden said.

Jaden, Aleksi and several other young Canadians approached Toronto city councilors to build MM22.6 – a motion that would give 16- and 17-year-olds the opportunity to vote in city elections.

City polls give property owners, residents and companies a say in changes in their neighborhood, such as the construction of speed bumps or transportation routes.

Jaden said changing the voting age for city elections from 18 to 16 would help young Canadians get involved in democracy early.

“It’s almost like taking the social studies lessons we get in 9th and 10th grade and applying those lessons to real life in a low-stakes environment,” he said.

Sarah Morra, a 17-year-old who is also involved in the motion, thinks it is a good starting point.

“I think lowering the voting age in this accessible way will allow young people to be more civic-minded, participate in their communities and prepare for higher-stakes voting,” she said.

Sarah Morra said allowing 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in city elections could help young people demonstrate civic responsibility. (Image credit: Submitted by Sarah Morra)

Sarah said she doesn’t see a big difference between a 16-year-old and an 18-year-old, so it’s better to start building voting habits earlier if we can.

Jaden made a similar argument.

“A 16-year-old can drive a car, but cannot vote in our democracy. I would say it is much less risk to be able to vote.”

The municipal, provincial and federal efforts

In Canada, a greater effort is being made to lower the voting age to 16 in municipal, provincial and federal elections.

Eleven Canadian municipalities have passed motions to extend the voting age in some way, including Calgary, Alberta; Burnaby, British Columbia; and Brampton, Ontario.

These local efforts are largely symbolic: it is up to the provinces to change voting laws for local and state elections. But Canadian Senator Marilou McPhedran says they are still sending an important message.

Manitoba Senator Marilou McPhedran is behind a bill that could lower the voting age for federal elections in Canada from 18 to 16. Credit: Patrick Doyle/The Canadian Press

“These are signals to provincial governments that there is a shift happening, that support is growing to lower the voting age to 16,” McPhedran told CBC Kids News.

McPhedran said lowering the voting age would strengthen democracy. She is responsible for bill S-201, a bill active in the Senate that, if passed, would allow 16- and 17-year-old Canadians to vote in federal elections.

She said Jaden and Sarah’s efforts in Toronto could be the most important in turning the tide, as Toronto is Canada’s largest municipality.

“If you see a significant shift in Toronto, it could inform what is happening in many other parts of the country. I think Toronto has the potential to be a game changer,” she said.

Arguments for and against lowering the voting age

Valere Gaspard is a PhD candidate at the University of Ottawa whose research focuses on Canadian politics, including our history with voting age.

He says the voting age in Canada hasn’t always been 18. It was 21 years until 1970, when a major youth movement pushed for its reduction.

“A sufficient number of young people came together and pushed in a way that forced politicians to take action to avoid the risk of destabilizing our democracy,” he said.

Today he said there are five primary arguments for lowering the voting age around the world:

Young people aged 16 to 17 are just as mature and capable as 18 year olds — According to Gaspard, several studies support this argument.
Conditions are stable — 16- and 17-year-olds are often still in school and living at home, and may even be more likely to vote than 18- to 20-year-olds who may have full-time jobs and other competing priorities.
Increases participation — Lowering the voting age allows more people to vote, increasing the total number of votes. Some argue that this makes our democracy stronger.
Gives citizens freedom — This argument states that if a group of people demands the right to vote, it is better to give them that right if there is no strong evidence against it.
It’s their future — Decisions around issues like climate change will affect the future of today’s youth, so the more young people can have a say in that future, the better.

Gaspard said five common arguments against lowering the voting age are:

16 to 17 year olds are not mature enough — According to Gaspard, this view is based more on public opinion than on research.
Lower turnout in elections — As mentioned above, lowering the voting age is likely to increase the total number of voters, but this is different from turnout, which is the share of eligible voters among all eligible voters. Because research shows that young people generally vote less, lowering the voting age could reduce turnout. Some argue that lower turnout makes people view election results as less legitimate.
Temporary disenfranchisement – For example, if the voting age were lowered federally, but not provincially, a 16-year-old would be allowed to vote in one election and not in the other.
Lack of will — Not all young people care about voting in elections, so it’s safer to leave things unchanged until enough of them can demonstrate that they want to vote. Gaspard said the problem with this is that “sufficient” support is difficult to define.
Young people can be involved in other ways — Those under 18 can get involved in politics in other ways, such as volunteering for a political campaign, which allows them to discuss and debate issues before they have the right to vote.

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