The Vote16 Canada movement consists of a large network of advocates, organizations, and political representatives who believe it’s time to extend voting rights to 16 and 17 year olds in Canada.
VOTE16
3 REASONS
Federal politicians - from all parties - have been trying to empower our youth for over three decades.
They’re ready.
Studies show that 16- and 17-year-olds are equal to 18-year-olds in their ability to vote responsibly, both in mental reasoning and political knowledge.
Habits start at home.
University can be a difficult time to start voting. Students are often in a new city, away from home, and facing new responsibilities. Lowering the voting age to 16 makes it more likely that young people will cast their first ballot and then build that habit.
It’s consistent.
In Canada, a 16-year old can enroll in the Armed Forces, drive a car, provide sexual consent and can be tried as an adult in court.
Youth are already engaged in politics
Children First Canada, in partnership with Wisdom2Action and Youth Central, consulted children and youth from across Canada about the right to vote. Read the report.
88%
said they had thought about who they would vote for in the last election
63%
felt that politicians would pay more attention to the issues youth care about
30%
of teens have part‑time jobs
3 MYTHS
“Teen brains aren’t fully developed”
In reality
While the human brain continues to mature well into our 20s, there is a scientific distinction between Hot Cognition (impulse decisions, affected by emotion) and Cold Cognition (decisions that require time and thought). Research shows that 16-year-olds are just as capable as older adults at Cold Cognition, the type of thinking used when voting.
“They’re too impressionable”
In reality
One of the most common arguments against #Vote16 is that teens will just vote how they’re told. But anyone who thinks teens do whatever their parents or teachers tell them… clearly hasn’t met a teen. More importantly, adults too are influenced politically by their friends, family members or even by celebrity endorsements. Since when does that make anyone ineligible to vote?
“They’ll all vote the same way”
In reality
It’s often assumed that younger voters may all vote the same way, like some kind of homogeneous voting bloc. But in the 2019 Student Vote mock elections (with more than one million high schools students participating), the vote was split almost evenly amongst the four major national parties. The largest vote was for the Conservative Party.
TAKE ACTION
Here are five quick actions YOU can take:
Politicians need to hear from YOU! Don’t be shy. Reach out and make your voice heard!
FEDERAL: Find your local MP and send them a message about this issue. Also, send a message to all the Senators from your province!
PROVINCIAL: Find your local MPP or MLA and let them know why this is important to you!
Alberta • BC • Manitoba • New Brunswick • Newfoundland & Labrador • NWT • Nova Scotia • Nunavut • Ontario • PEI • Quebec • Saskatchewan • Yukon
MUNICIPAL: 3,573. That’s how many municipalities we have in Canada. And each one has elections for a local council! And right now, the voting age for ALL of them is 18. Contact your local councillor(s) and mayor and ask them to consider expanding the voting age for local elections!
The most important thing you can do for Vote16 is to bring more people into it!
Talk to your friends and family, and encourage them to join us. You can also talk to any groups you’re involved with, and ask them to consider endorsing our cause! We are always looking for new connections to add to our network of collaborators!
Vote16 is fuelled by your creativity, whether that is physical art, social media creation, writing (and so many more formats), creating in support of the movement increases our visibility.
ART: Every movement needs good visuals! Are you an illustrator, painter, graphic designer, meme-maker or doodler? We need YOU! Send us your ideas, or just post them to social media - and always tag with #Vote16
WORDS: Are you a writer? We need your stories, poetry and essays! Again, feel free to send us your work, and/or post on social media, and tag us! Also, submit your work to local media. Who knows…they might publish it!
Help us spread the word. Share our social media content and create your own! Each and every one of you is an ambassador for the movement, a promoter and a cheerleader. Thank you!
When you start promoting an expanded voting age, you’ll inevitably be exposed to myths, misinformation and generalisations. When that happens, you want to have the counter-arguments on the tip of your tongue!
Here are a few good places to start:
Joint Statement in Support of Extending Federal Voting Rights to 16-Year-Olds
In 2024, 50 civil society organizations collaborated to sign a joint statement in support of sending the Vote16 Act to committee.
"Today, 50 groups across the country stand together in support of extending voting rights to 16- and 17-year-olds. We, the undersigned organisations, call on all Senators to vote in favour of the Vote16 Act."
FULL STATEMENT
JOIN VOTE16
If you live in Canada, you can get involved in the Vote16 campaign, and encourage your local government to support lowering the voting age.
Vote16 can support you through its national network of advocates, strategic and educational resources, and connections with federal politicians who support this cause.
