Should the voting age in Canada be lowered? These young Yukoners think so

Juliette Belisle-Greetham has waited a long time for this — the first federal election in which she'll cast a ballot.

Belisle-Greetham, 20, lives in Whitehorse and she credits her family for sparking her interest in politics at a young age. 

"They've really taught me to care about what's happening in our country, and also be really open to people's differences," she said. 

Belisle-Greetham knows she's not the only one who found a passion for politics and civic engagement in their teens. That's why she got involved with Vote16, a national campaign to lower the legal voting age, from 18 to 16.

At 16, Canadians are "already getting a lot of rights," she said — including the right to drive, and to consent to sexual activity. Belisle-Greetham said voting should be added to that list.

She said she also believes lowering the voting age could help promote more long-term involvement in the electoral process. That's because she thinks 16-year-olds are as likely, if not more likely, than 18-year-olds to pay attention to politics — and therefore become lifelong voters.

At 18, many people move away from home for school or other reasons, she said.

"They're not as close to their communities. So they're not really aware of what's going on. And often it's a very busy time in their lives, so voting is not their priority," she said.

"It is proven that if you vote your first election, you're most likely to be of a lifelong voter. And we know in this country we need higher voter participation."

Tristan Gagnon, a Grade 11 student at Whitehorse's Centre Scolaire Secondaire Communautaire Paul-Émile-Mercier, agrees. He takes a course in social justice at the school, and this month, the class has been inviting Yukon's federal candidates to come talk to them.

He said he thinks lowering the voting age to 16 would be "fairly great."

"There's many other things you need to think about when you're just a new adult. So when you do it when you're 16, it's much simpler to just go over there and vote," Gagnon said.

"Even if you're voting the same thing as your parents, you're still getting the habit of voting into you. So once you're not living with your parents anymore, you can like, form more of your own opinions."

Zara Zedda, a classmate of Gagnon, said she also comes from a family where politics is always a big topic of conversation at the dinner table. She said she would "100 per cent vote," if she could.