Lowering the voting age to 16 is not a new idea. In some countries like Brazil, Austria and Scotland, people aged 16 and up can vote. Some Canadians support this idea. Others oppose it.

What are the implications of lowering the voting age? What impact do you think this would have on youth participation and political engagement?

Jeff Coffman, a city councillor from Lethbridge, wants to lower the legal voting age from the current 18.

…research actually shows that the younger a person votes, the greater the [likelihood] that they will actually keep on being a voter throughout their life…. So this is about training a group of 16- and 17-year-olds how to be democratic citizens.

Civic elections are a great place to start, because teenagers use city services. They go to school, walk and drive on roads, take the bus and use libraries and recreational facilities.

I think kids nowadays have greater maturity than we give them credit for and they certainly have greater access to knowledge and information than what we did in my generation.

CBC News Calgary (September 23, 2015). Alberta cities vote against lowering voting age to 16.

The Edmonton city council agrees. On August 16, 2016 a city council executive committee backed a request from the Edmonton Youth Council to lower the voting age for municipal elections to 16. City council will send the request on to the provincial government.

The youth councillors, first and foremost, demonstrated that young people can have a relevant voice in our democracy by bringing forward a very compelling argument with strong evidence and research that 16-year-olds have sufficient cognitive ability to express informed democratic consent and therefore to vote,” Mayor Don Iveson said.

“I was persuaded by their evidence and I think anything that over the long-term fosters greater engagement and participation in our civic democracy – and ultimately perhaps provincial and federal democracy – is a good thing.

Mertz, E. (August 16, 2016). Edmonton City Council supports youth request to lower voting age to 16: Global News.