Lowering Canada's voting age to 16 is her 'top parliamentary priority,' senator says

Edmonton Journal

23-07-2025

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Britain's voting age last fell in 1969, when the U.K. became one of the first major democracies to lower it from 21 to 18. Many other countries quickly followed suit; Canada lowered its voting age to 18 in 1970.
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Several countries already have a voting age of 16, including Austria, Brazil and Ecuador. Scotland and Wales allow 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in local and regional elections.
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Michael Wigginton, a post-doctoral fellow in political science at Carleton University, said the U.K. government's decision represents a 'fairly natural progression,' coming a decade after Scotland started allowing 16-year-olds to vote for members of the Scottish Parliament and in municipal elections.
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'Having that sort of local example to point to makes it easier for both politicians and the public at large to feel comfortable that the reform can work for the U.K. Parliament and not have negative effects,' said Wigginton.
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Efforts are being made across Canada to lower the voting age.
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In 2021, young Canadians filed an application at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice to challenge the voting age, arguing that the Canada Elections Act is in violation of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and is unconstitutional.
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Toronto recently passed a motion allowing 16 and 17-year-olds to vote in polls at the neighbourhood level on planning and policy issues. And a provincial committee looking at ways to boost democratic engagement in B.C. is examining a lower voting age.
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Wigginton said that while he doesn't expect Canada to immediately adopt a voting age of 16, having the U.K. as an example will 'definitely push the issue into the spotlight more and increase the chances of it happening it the future.'
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'What I see is most likely is that one or more provinces will adopt a lower voting age first and then the federal government may eventually follow suit,' he said.