Young Canadians launch court challenge to lower federal voting age from 18 | CBC News

A group of young Canadians has launched a court challenge to lower Canada's minimum age for voting in federal elections.

On Tuesday, 13 young people from across the country, ranging in age from 12 to 18, filed an application at the Ontario Superior Court of Justice arguing that the section of the Canada Elections Act which bars Canadians under 18 from voting in federal elections is unconstitutional.

Amelia Penney-Crocker, a 16-year-old from Nova Scotia, got involved in the challenge through Children First Canada, the youth charitable organization backing the effort.

Penney-Crocker told CBC News that with the planet at a "tipping point" because of climate change, young people must have the right to weigh in on what needs to be done to tackle the crisis.

Penney-Crocker said children and youth are disenfranchised in a way that is not healthy for Canada's political system.

And it's not just about giving young people a chance to choose their representatives, she said.

Another litigant, 15-year-old Katie Yu from Iqaluit, is quoted in a media statement saying children and youth deserve to be heard on the matters that affect their lives, such as mental health and climate change.

Justice for Children and Youth said in the release that "decision-makers tend to cite outdated factors when denying young people access to the polls" — sometimes the same factors that were used to deny other groups the vote in the past.

The lawyers also plan to cite the Supreme Court's ruling in 2019 that expats should not be denied the right to vote no matter how long they've lived outside Canada, saying the decision showed that any limits on voting rights "must be clearly justified.".

Though the group has not suggested an appropriate minimum voting age, it noted that several other countries — such as Germany, Brazil and Austria — have lowered their voting ages to 16, while four major federal parties — the Liberals, Conservatives, New Democrats and Greens — already allow Canadians under 18 to vote in party leadership contests.

The legal challenge comes as a senator is reviving her efforts to change the federal voting age.

It is essential for us to lower the federal voting age because youth are not only tomorrow’s leaders, but they are among today’s leaders and we need them highly engaged to ensure a sustainable future for Canada and our planet.